RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
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What is this goal about?
We must take a lead and learn how to use and produce more responsibly and sustainably, in theory, and apply that in the practice. The new perspective will change our habits in daily life, encourage us to consume in a more environment friendly way, that allows us to preserve our resources and the environment as much as possible. Therefore, we will move further and consider the social and economic impacts of consumption and production and reverse the harm that we have inflicted on the planet.
Negative ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Negative ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Many problems arise from unsustainable production and consumption patterns:
large amounts of food waste across the whole food value chain,
surging consumption of cheap clothes and increasing electricity consumption by European households,
indirect huge water consumption (e.g. for a cheeseburger production, which requires 2,400 litres of water, including bread, beef and cheese).
Many well-known companies use questionable and unsustainable production methods!
The case of Volkswagen scandals with illegal carbon detection software - "diesel dupe"
VW has enormously boosted sales of diesel cars in the U.S., backed by a major marketing campaign that has successfully trumpeted low car emissions.
In September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that many VW cars being sold in America had a "defeat device" - or software - in diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested, changing the performance accordingly to improve results. The German car giant has since admitted cheating emissions tests in the US.
Looking for a way to reduce their carbon emissions while still purchasing an affordable vehicle, many consumers turned to Volkswagen turbocharged direct injection (TDI) cars. The company admitted to having installed software that manipulated emissions readings to make its cars appear as if they were environmentally friendly.
The colossus NESTLE' - one the largest food company in the world full of the controversy
There are too many scandals concerning this company especially in the way they produce food.
In 1974, a report entitled The Baby Killer accused Nestlé for causing illness and infant deaths in poor communities in third world countries by promoting their infant formula products at the expense of breastfeeding.
Nestlé caused the deaths of about 1.5 million babies each year as a result of formula being mixed with contaminated water.
In 2019, Nestlé recorded more than 1,000 cases of deforestation per day, and the development organizations also blamed Nestlé's palm oil suppliers for land conflicts, exploitation and child labor.
Another industry that produces without taking side effects into account is the fashion industry, specifically what it is called FAST FASHION.
WHAT IS FAST FASHION?
Marketing method focused on rapidly producing high volumes of clothing that are cheap and accesible for everyone. The philosophy behind is to wear clothes that are popular at the moment, experience the thrill of wearing clothes similar to those seen on the catwalk and after wearing them for a while, throw them away. Among the most famous Fast Fashion brands there are H&M, Zara, Primark, and Benetton.
-OVERPRODUCTION, OVERCONSUMPTION AND WORKER'S RIGHTS
It is the second largest consumer industry of water (about 2649,80 litres to produce a cotton shirt and 7570,80 litres for a pair for jeans);
The production of making plastic fibres into textiles is an energy-intensive process that requires large amounts of petroleum and releases volatile particulate matter and acids like hydrogen chloride;
A 2018 US Department of Labor report found evidence of forced and child labouearth.org r in the fashion industry in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Turkey, Vietnam and others;
In 2013, an eight-floor factory building that housed several garment factories collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1 134 workers and injuring more than 2 500. This is considered low-capital and labour intensive industry.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH IT?
WHAT IS WRONG WITH IT?
-POLLUTION
Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams;
The textile dyeing is the world’s second-largest polluter of water;
85% of textilearth.org es go into landfills each year;
Brands use synthetic fibres like polyester, nylon and acrylic which take hundreds of years to biodegrade;
SOME SOLUTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES TO FAST FASHION
First of all, getting informed and educating yourself about this is essential. You can do this by reading articles and watching very elaborated videos on this matter which will give you a clear idea and also provide data and statistics. We highly recommend you watch the documentary “THE TRUE COST” by Andrew Morgan. It is very well done and after watching it you will realize that you have to change your habits and also raise awareness when it comes to this subject.
Before buying anything, always ask yourself if you truly need that anthem or you are just giving up to a non-necessary need which mainly comes from the external influences from social media and from our consumerist societies.
Buy second-handed clothes and sell/donate/exchange the clothes that you don’t need anymore. To do this you can go to thrift shops or use online platforms as Depop, Vinted, Facebook Marketplace, etc;
Buy from ethical and sustainable clothing brands which respect the environment and prioritize human rights.
A separate chapter deserves the WASTE OF FOOD and in particular how fast food restaurants work.
DID YOU KNOW?
The UN Environment Programme's Food Waste Index revealed that 17% of the food available to consumers - in shops, households and restaurants - goes directly into the bin.
Some 60% of that waste is in the home.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56271385
If wasted food was a country, it would be the third largest producer of carbon dioxide in the world, after the United States and China
The water used to produce the food wasted could be used by 9 billion people at around 200 litres per person per day.
Breaking it down by food group, losses and waste per year are roughly 30% for cereals, 40-50% for root crops and fruit and vegetables, 20% for oil seed and meat and dairy and 35% for fish.
In Europe, 40-60% of fish caught are discarded because they do not meet supermarket quality standards.
In the US, organic waste is the largest source of methane emissions.
https://earth.org/facts-about-food-waste/
Let's talk about fast food.
As we know Fast food refers to food that can be prepared and served quickly,often to take away . The philosophy behind in the beginnig was to offers the customers tasty food,not expensive, that can be consumed easily,especially for workers, who didn’t have time to prepare the lunch.
Thanks to McDonald,which was not the first fast food created,they become a huge phenomenon and now every city has at least 1 if not more fast food restaurants.
Searching on the internet I discovered that
sugar is a popular ingredient and is added to almost every fast food product, from sauces and dressings to batter and bread. Eating too much sugar can cause serious health issues and is linked to an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. Sugar may also be addictive, and overconsumption sometimes is linked to depression.
Trans fats (which occur when liquid oils are turned into solids) are added to many fast food products to help them last longer.
Salt (sodium) is commonly used as a flavor enhancer for home cooking and seasoning. In fast foods, however, sodium is used as a preservative to extend shelf life and enhance the taste. In fact, one fast food meal can include upwards of 1,300 milligrams of sodium — more than half of your daily recommended intake!
Consuming foods that are high in sodium on a regular basis has been linked to increased rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, and kidney disease.
One of the biggest dangers of fast food is all of the processing chemicals that go into preparing fast food products for distribution and consumption.
Chemicals are added to most fast food products to make them last longer and taste better, but these chemicals compromise the nutritional quality of the food and can even be harmful to your health.
https://flo.health/menstrual-cycle/lifestyle/diet-and-nutrition/the-truth-about-fast-food-ingredients
But what are the ingredients that these companies use to prepare the food and why are they so unhealthy?
Kids Are Eating Fast Food More Frequently
Researchers found children are eating fast food more often. In 2016, 91 percent of parents reported purchasing lunch or dinner for their child in the past week at one of the four largest chains, up from 79 percent in 2010. Families visited McDonald’s the most.
https://today.uconn.edu/2018/09/kids-eating-fast-food-not-healthy-options/#
SIDE EFFECTS OF FAST FOOD: "FAST FOOD GENOCIDE"
Most don’t understand the depth and breadth of the harm as a large segment of our society eats a diet worse than the dangerous SAD. Many people recognize that junk food, fast food, processed food, white flour, sugar, maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, and all the junk people are eating contribute to in obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, dementia and cancer, but many don’t realize the strong causative role an unhealthy diet may have in mental illness.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6146358/
It is necessary to learn to consume and produce in a sustainable way, to conserve the natural resources that remain and guarantee a future for the next generations!
Workshops
On this theme, responsible consumption and production, we decided to make a workshop for teenagers, by doing so, we wanted to make them aware of what it is and is not necessary to produce, but especially to consume
Just the 6 of us (Mimi, Claudia, Kawtar,Christian,Rao and Francesca) went- due to the Covid-19 restrictions to a local school, the Professional Braga School
(actually it was a real miracolous that we had the opportunity to go).
There was a small introduction about the theme- conducted by Christian- general informations about the SDGs, this SDG in particular and the goals to achieve by 2030.
Francesca and Kawtar did a kahoot to evaluate their knowledge and then proceeded with a small explanation about the data they gave to them.
The age of the schoolers were 16/17.
They learn by Mimi and Claudia, how to create wallets by reusing tetrapack, the material where usually the milk is contained. The results were pretty amazing and they all showed huge interest and curiosity.
Rao gave them a list of ingredients with whom they had to think of a recipe, this was a bit challenging but in this way, by using their imagination, we hope, they learned how to use leftovers, when in the future they will need it.
For the volunteers who went in the school
" It was a very valuable experience that taught us the need to advocate for important issues that concern society as a whole. We consider that the new young generations are the key actors to lead the change that our world needs"
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