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Eating may be the one area of our lives where it's easiest to cultivate awareness of the interdependence of all things, and, if you're into that sort of thing, to consciously choose those foodstuffs that result from the least planet-damaging processes. We buy whole grains and organic produce. Our carts brim with free-range chickens and beef grazed only on private land. We hope and believe that by supporting the typically small businesses that bring these products to market-and sell them, most often, at prices higher than comparable but less green alternatives-we're nudging all business toward a kinder, gentler commerce.
But garden implement entrepreneur and trend-bucking economist Paul Hawken, writing in the Utne Reader a while back, pointed out that because of our consumption-driven economy, even "if every company on the planet were to adopt the environmental and social policies of the best companies-of, say, the Body Shop, Patagonia, and Ben and Jerry's-the world would still be moving toward environmental degradation and collapse."
That's gloomy, but he also offered a more upbeat 12-point plan for wresting the global economy away from the corporations and steering it toward sustainability. In a world that made more sense we would start those 12 steps right now, but there's a better chance that the Center for Science in the Public Interest will determine that several rashers of crisp bacon daily prevents heart disease. So in the meantime, buy less, live more simply, and support your local sustainable agriculturalist by shopping at the your local farmers' market.