Polite but Fed Up

The world sure isn't becoming a better place all by itself.  It's up to each of us to make a difference, and yes, it's our individual responsibility.  No, the cop out "I'm just one individual, it doesn't matter what I do" won't work.  Bullshit.  (I lied about the polite part.)  If it didn't matter then marketing firms wouldn't be raking in the bucks trying to change our individual choices. 

No, none of us is perfect; no, none of us has a magic answer; but here are a few action verbs to think about.  Many of them have to do with consumer choices, what we buy.  Let's face it: under the shadow of the American Empire, nothing talks louder than money. 

Recycle. Walk.  Vote. Check the label.  Support local businesses.  Buy from independent stores.  Bike.  Give to your local food bank.  Reuse. Throw your trash away in a garbage bin, not on the street.  Support sustainable agriculture.  Buy recycled.  Take the bus.  Bring your own bag.  Bring your own cup. Opt for better gas mileage.  Use biodegradable cleaners.  Go camping.  Write to your political representative about issues you care about. Support your public radio station.  Turn off the television.  Read.  Go canoeing.  Go to the farmer's market.  "Just say no" to malls.  Buy a cup of coffee for the homeless guy on the streetcorner.  Inform yourself.  Boycott products made or sold by companies you think are unethical (what do YOU care about? sweatshops? child labour? unsafe pesticides? tobacco pushers? oil spills? genetically modified foods?)  Use chlorine-free paper.  Volunteer. Support family planning.  Support free speech. Tell the guy with the racist jokes that he's not funny.  Protest threats to civil rights.  Buy products, not brands. 

Hey, I'm not saying we can do all these things all the time.  Very often, we get into trade-off situations, or the choices are too expensive, or a hundred other reasons.  You don't have to justify anything to me, I have enough trouble justifying things to myself.  But think about these options a little bit.  We have so many chances, daily, to make small choices that add up.

Here are a few links with food for thought.  I'm not taking any single one as gospel, but they're worth checking out.  Some are on the funny side, but it does me good.

• MotherJones.com -- News and Resources for the Skeptical Citizen 
• Jim Hightower - America's #1 Populist 
• The Smirking Chimp 
• WorkingForChange 
• NoLogo: the book that became part of a movement 
• This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow 
• The New Republic Online 
• Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting: The National Media Watch Group 
• Real Change News 
• BBC - h2g2 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 
• Federation of American Scientists 
• Council for National Policy: Unofficial Information Page 
• Oddcast Host Workshop 
• Planned Parenthood - Global Partners 
• Planned Parenthood Federation of America 
• ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union 
• Green Parties World Wide 
• The Greens/Green Party USA 
• Tom the Dancing Bug -- by Ruben Bolling 
• La Ligue des droits de l'Homme 
• International Federation for Human Rights
• Institute for First Amendment Studies 
• The Cockburn Project - Issues Index 
• The Boondocks - by Aaron McGruder 
• tao communications 
• OCAP: Ontario Coalition Against Poverty 
• Long Haul Infoshop Home Page 
• Homeward NASNA links 
• The Fightin' Whities
• Greg Palast, Journalist
• MoveOn.org
• Organic Consumers Association
• (more to come)

We're So Owned:

Greenwashing in action, or, "There's greenbacks in green business".  Here is a handy-dandy-scary chart from the Organic Consumers Association.  Some highlights:

• Ben & Jerry's (owned by food giant Unilever since 2000)
• Back to Nature (acquired by Kraft Foods in 2004, owned by Altria Corp, who owns tobacco giant Philip Morris)
• Boca Burger, Inc. (owned by Kraft Foods, which is owned by Altria Corp, who owns Philip Morris)
• Cascadian Farms (owned by General Mills)
• Horizon Organic (owned by Dean Foods, Co., largest dairy company in the US, since 2003)
• Kashi Cereals (owned by Kellogg)
• Morningstar Farms (owned by Kellogg)
• Muir Glen (owned by General Mills)
• Odwalla (owned by Coca-Cola since 2001)
• Silk Soymilk (owned by Dean Foods, Co.)
• Tom's of Maine (owned by Colgate-Palmolive Co. since March 2006)
• White Wave Tofu (owned by Dean Foods, Co.)

Last updated June 5, 2006