Wasting Food

Something that bothers me is, when people have a full fridge and throw stuff away. As the Sunday Times reports today it is quiet an amount of food that is wasted every year: One Country's Table Scrapes...

My fridge is almost always pretty empty and I have to admit I have a hard time buying a lot of stuff even when I get company just in case they might want to eat it. I follow a different diet then most of the people I know so I am always left with the leftovers. What I would like to do is having them trust me and being open for this short amount of time. I would shop so that everybody is well fed and there is nothing left over. I started by not buying the brunch menu anymore and just serving fresh fruit and muesli. I only buy what I would eat and serve ... folks, to bad!! And it isn´t even that I am concerned about your health (which totally would improve) but for me. I want to act cautious and sustainable.

One answer or the answer?

Well, I may have found an answer to my question last week. I did a little research on "sustainability" and what it stands for. It is basically and very shortened a principle of preserving resources for future generations so they will have a choice. It is based on ecological sustainability but streams of economic and social sustainability are separately researched. A sustainable system or process will last indefinitely. The most significant definition is the one of the Brundtland-Commission found on wikipedia: 

"One of the first and most oft-cited definitions of sustainability, and almost certainly the one that will survive for posterity, is the one created by the Brundtland Commission, led by the former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. The Commission defined sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."^[1] The Brundtland definition thus implicitly argues for the rights of future generations to raw materials and vital ecosystem services to be taken into account in decision making." (wikipedia.com)

It makes a lot sense actually. But when you look at the real world it is hardly seen. The question remaining is: why should we care what happens in the future? Why no being egoistic? And is it possible that future generations will adapt to their environment and find ways to live anyway?  Is sustainable politics just another ideology? Let the strongest survive!? I don´t know tell me!

Flip flop

I was supposed to work so much this weekend but since it was the first summer weekend and some old friends came to visit... I used the time wisely. I thought while being away from the computer and enjoying the beach! There is nothing like to hang out with your friends at the beach and watching the sun going south while having dinner ... I still can´t believe I live here. ;)

But then tonight it hit me even more! I watched a couple of movies from the Pangea Filmfestival! I was amazed and shivering again. There is so much to do and I never know where to start. But recently I catch myself a lot of times why am I being so pathetic about being Ms. Peace? I could just as well be as egoistic (and I probably am) as everyone else. Why do I want to change things and why do I care? The world is a pretty strange place to live in. It is dominated by nature but yet society believes to be in control. Why do I care about this stuff and why don´t I have a 9-5 job? 

The only answer I have now: Because of what Ms Diaz said - basically everyone is the same and wants the same: love and security and provide for the family. All over the world there are the same principles. But something went wrong when some developed different then others and that is when i t got unfair. But so far "ECONOMY!" seems to be the only principal, which works. I always get to here: the market gets what the market requests for!! Well but how about stupidity? Can you guys help me to explain to people that market based economy will drive us nuts!!! I only have my stomach to trust but not enough arguments. Explain to me what is sustainability and why should we pursue it?

Life at the beach

 Life is tough!!! I cannot tell you how hard it is to focus on work when there is a beach and sunshine. I am suffering!!! It is pure magic to come out to the beach every evening and just see the sunset. There is something so calming about it, I think I may never want to live somewhere else. What more do you need in live? 

Free Consumption!

I found this really sweet little movie on utopia.de:

The Story of Stuff from UTOPIA AG on Vimeo.

What really bugs me is, that I loooove shopping and love to spent my money but I would love to have a choice! It is not always about being eco-pc but it is about having a choice. As for food you have no idea how many beautiful and tasty apple varieties are out there, cheeses, veggies and even meat, because you cannot get them anywhere. WHY??? I don´t like having big retailers choosing for me, I like to pick my own food, because I have different expectations and want something else. I want taste and nutrition. In stores you only get standardized stuff. I am no standard... I hope! ;-)

Eater-based Conservation

Regional food is true luxury. Forget about houses, cars, clothes and jewelry, this stuff can be bought all over and doesn´t even have a lot of useful value. But what about all these rare local foods that just aren´t available? What about escaping the standardized taste and food shelves? There is a whole bunch of great food out there that is truly tasteful, special and even much more nutritious (Pollan 2008) then the stuff that major grocers offer today. The problem is that most of it is not fit to be produced to serve the economies of scale. Most of it is so delicate and special that it can only be grown and raised in small amounts and thereby not worth the attention of the retail chain. But if you like to be a free consumer with free will and the extra sense for luxury get your diamonds at the local farmers, look for those special tomatoes and basil and chicken and ... your taste buds will love you! And you also safe rare plants and support biodiversity. 

There has been a great article at the NYT about the matter. I wish there would be something like that for Germany. But maybe I´ll do it... In any case, go and contact your local SlowFood group. They know where you really want to spent your money to impress your company. It is a great organization which integrates growing and taste and social as well as environmental awareness. And it is active world wide. I asked mine where I can find great tomato plants to grow at the green house in my university (soon to be blogged) and now I have a black, yellow, pink, green and red variety. I can´t wait.