DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Samuel van der Swaagh

House 2, Cohort 2,

09/27/12

City Seminar: Reading & Writing

 

"Who am I as a Consumer?"

 

            Personally, consumerism is a term that describes our consumption habits and our view of the material world. In other words, consumerism encompasses all our eating, using or purchasing practices. Ever since the rise of industrialism and Fordism, consumerism pervades our daily life. Today, people attach value to whatever they consume. Consequently, items, products or services often define their consumers. In order to gain a better perspective on how our consumption behavior impacts our environment, self-examination is essential. After examining my consumer lifestyle, I believe I will obtain a stronger understanding of the sustainability of my food consumption habits. When I talk about sustainability, I am referring to both environmental and social impact. Also, I intend to measure whether or not my consumption patterns are economical or efficient. But the ultimate purpose of performing this examination is to determine whether or not my current way of living genuinely serves me in terms of my family, community, and environment.

 

            I believe I am a conscious consumer when it comes to recycling (e.g., boxes, paper and bottles), reusing (e.g. I use totes, and cloth napkins), and composting (e.g., vegetables, egg shells, and coffee ground), yet I am also aware that I am weak when it comes to discussing my trash footprint. Despite the fact that I recycle, compost or reuse things, I also allow trash to easily pass through my hands. I buy into the ideas of planned obsolescence, and disposability. In short, I often consume convenience products.

 

 

            Consider my refrigerator, which looks pretty sparse at the moment, that draws a great picture of my consumption habits.  As I made inventory on the contents of my refrigerator, I immediately noticed the condiments, dairy products, and vegetables. Currently, my refrigerator contains a great variety of items, but not many option for creating exciting or gourmet meals. At a glance, the best options before me are to either cook an omelet, a frittata, or a light sandwich, salad, or tortilla. The majority of my grocery items come from Fairway, which my family visits once a week. This might include our produce, dairy products, and sandwich elements. The remaining smaller items or condiments are either from BJ's or Dag's. Probably, the majority of my refrigerator consists of dairy products. The missing elements from my refrigerator include fruit and basic vegetables (e.g. lettuce, peppers, and onions). The only pieces of fruit in my apartment are 5 apples, 1 leman, a half a carton of strawberries, about 7 limes, and a few tomatoes. In the end, our family plans our food purchases in a manner that allows us to last a week without shopping and to have at least four fancy meals. As the week prolongs, the fruit tends to go first. Following this trend, a great majority of the vegetables disappear.

 

           For the most part, my family proves to be resourceful when we have limited food in the apartment. If we have eggs, and scraps of left overs, we make a frittata. Or if we have enough vegetables in the household, we have a stir-fry. Nonetheless, our garbage bag still reeks of wasted food. Whatever food we cannot compost, we often toss into the trash bin (e.g., dairy products, or oily food). Also, do not forget about the plastic containers that my family throwaway after we empty their contents. In regards to food, we try to eat everything in our pantry and refrigerator. However, leftovers often become uneatable and we gladly drop the items into the trash. Also, sometimes in our laziness, we do not compost scraps because it would involve one to sort through the food on our plates. Probably the worst contributor to our trash is our convenience products. In term of kitchen waste, we often trash food wrappers, containers or packaging without noting whether or not they are recyclable or reusable. This problem becomes especially evident when we toss zip-lock bags. In addition, if our family used handkerchiefs and glass mouth wash cups, our trash would be reduced dramatically. Another aspect of our daily waste that has not been considered is our water tap. According to my consumption diery, I waste approximately 100 liters of water whenever I take a shower, wash my hands or dishes, or brush my teeth. In relationship to food, we use tote bags to carry our groceries. Also, our family reuses yogurt tubs for storing our compost. And occasionally we save containers for storage purposes. In addition, my family for the past three years has always used cloth napkins.

 

            Ever since my mother was introduced to Mark Bittman, a prominent New York Times food journalist, our family has incorporated "sustainable living" into our food lives. One only needs to read “How to Cook Everything” in order to know that Bittman's advocates the idea of 'meals turning into more meals' and extending the life of an ingredient. In addition, Bitman also promotes a diet of eating fewer processed foods. Supposedly, highly processed food leave people less satisfied than non-processed food. My family’s determining factor for buying one thing over the other is the item’s longevity. Take for instance a fairly expensive grain called farro. For economic reasons people would ordinarily not buy farro. Most people, however, do not realize that if one purchases farro in bulk, he/she can use the grain in salads, brittle cakes, and hardy frittatas. Plus, farro tends to satisfy people faster than many other grains because it is less processed than many other grains. Thus, in some respect, buying farro is economic because we eat less in order to be satisfied. Whenever my family goes grocery shopping, we commonly use a list that follows the needs of our depleting supplies. When the list grows to a certain point, we usually follow through with a grocery trip. Also, the list is shaped around a particular meal plan for that week.   

 

            My parents usually buy the food in my household. I am responsible for paying for my lunches, however, whenever I leave home. My family for the past few years has made an effort to avoid eating restaurant food. So, far as a family (8 members) for the past 2 years, we have only resorted to take outs ten times. I believe during these rare instances, my family was either pressured by time or circumstances. This is not to indicate that during these two years my family rarely encountered difficult or inconvenient situations. On the contrary, there exist many trialing occasions where one could find all members of my family assisting in either meal preparations or washing dishes. Nonetheless, my family yielded ten times to the temptation of convenience. This reasoning is unsustainable because it neglects other possibly greener and cheaper options.

 

            I try to save money when I shop because I believe it is wasteful to splurge. A person who lives to spend money will most likely lead a life of bankruptcy. The mentality of saving money influences what I buy in that I am forced to think critically about an item's quality and lifespan. Suddenly my attention is drawn toward the product’s value, durability, and expiration date. The focus shifts from pragmatism to a question of sustainability. In other words, the issue no longer becomes just functionality and efficiency, but also environmental and social practicality. I must determine whether or not my purchase will be truly meaningful or a “sucker’s” acquisition to planned obsolescence. In short, saving money offers me the incentive to buy less disposable items, and more long lasting high quality products. In addition, having a goal to save money helps me to build a spirit of gratitude. To paraphrase from Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man, a person who knows that enough is enough will lead a simpler and happier life.

 

            Thus according to my consumption choices, I am environmentally aware, yet many of my decisions are based on convenience, selfishness, and food theories. The beliefs and values attached to my consumption habits are threefold. First, I tend to seek instant satisfaction over maintaining our environment. Second, sometimes I hold to the blissful position that our planet can sustain itself as long as we sustain our own health. And third, I have frequently believe that as long as I make an effort, all will be well. The interesting aspect about these beliefs is that none of these values link my behavior to the problems of my surrounding environment. And even when my actions do have positive environmental impact, it is only the result of pursuing other goals. While analyzing my consumption patterns, I am astounded at how quickly things move through my hands. I have come to realize that rejecting today’s consumerism requires both persistent action and awareness.

 

* * * * * * * * * *

 

            To that end, keeping a Consumption Diary enabled me to study my daily consumption habits. This provided me with insight into my consuming patterns, particularly in regards to my use of water. The way I measured my water consumption was through a unit that I determined by observing how much water entered the sink or bathtub per minute. Although I had an easy unit to work with, the process of calculating my water consumption was burdensome. To make things worse, the results of my weekly water consumption were astounding. After analyzing the tables and graphs of my weekly water and paper product consumption, I noticed that I cautiously consume paper products, but am not terribly conscious of my water waste. The overall trend of both of these sets of data is that I tend to overindulge when it comes to using water for hygienic purposes. I think the major problem for me is the mindless nature of turning on the tap. Whenever I take a shower, or wash dishes manually, I find it inconvenient to constantly assess how much water I use on a daily basis. Unlike with trash, at the end of the day I do not have a visual sense of my water usage. Also, before I even have a real chance to contemplate my water waste, water swiftly passes through our drain pipes.

 

           If I were to project this week‘s water usage data over a course of a year, the picture would be more severe. After multiplying the collected data by 52, which is the number of weeks in a year, I obtained the numbers in the chart below.  I factored all the listed cleansing habits into the annual projection because I believe the data collected for each of these categories is representative of my weekly water usage. Also, I believe that each of these activities contribute a significant portion to my water consumption. I utilized a bar graph to display the data because unlike a pie graph, it provides the viewer with comprehensive labels and scale. Obviously, it is shocking to see my weekly water waste spread out over a year and to see the accumulative effects of small, wasteful practices. In light of No Impact Man, my consumption diary affirms Beavan’s claim in chapter 3 that it’s much easier to reduce waste with our larger consumption choices than it is to change our smaller daily habits.

 

 

            The two aspects of my data collection that were helpful was the need to be specific about the quantities we used and wasted as well as the need to be specific about the time when we used the products, that is, how our daily habits affected consumption. This helped me to distinguish the difference between what I considered valuable and what I consumed for convenience. This enabled me to more carefully evaluate my consumption habits. If I were to do this collection process again, I would focus more on my food waste. This current consumption diary focused on hygiene and liquid waste and I am curious to learn more about my waste from food consumption. Secondly, I would more closely monitor what I recycled. This would give a more accurate idea of who I am as a consumer.

 

            Planned or perceived obsolescence exists almost in the air we breathe. Even when we are informed of the situation and are consciously rejecting it, we can subconsciously accept it. Although there are thousands of ways to fight against American consumerism, I find two especially compelling. First, everyone should follow the model of recycle, reduce, and reuse. This basic principle will prevent one from wasting resources. Second, start living a life of gratitude and resist the attractive nature of instant gratification. Start appreciating what you have and stop perpetually idolizing the new.  

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.