Vicki:

We sure do love off-topic chats on this list! :-)

I'll apologize now for the moralistic tone that follows. In fact, I
suspect that many of you might want to stop reading now! We all have
our own stresses and burdens in an increasingly stressful world, and I
understand that people have families, and budget struggles, and that
many simply can't do many things that I espouse. I believe that it's
important to live according to the Light that we see, so I try not to
be judgmental about the choices others make.

Anyway, I just tend to read relevant books. Not as often as I should,
though. I'd like to do better. Just do a search on Amazon for, say,
ethical consumerism, or drop in to any major bookstore, and you will
find many references to choose from. And you'll learn more than you may
want to know! No doubt there are many web sites on the subject, too. I
tend to visit environmental web sites regularly, like Care2, to find
healthy solutions to everyday problems. And I get involved in online
petitions put forth by groups like Care, MoveOn, and the Union of
Concerned Scientists. Environmentalists are have a tough time of it
these days, for one obvious reason, in North America, anyway.

I have a book on Canadian companies called Shopping with a Conscience
that helps me spend my money in the Great White North. I've read John
Robbin's book called May All Be Fed (he turned his back on the
Baskin-Robbin's Ice Cream fortune to promote social justice through
vegetarianism). The book gets the science muddled, but works quite well
on a spiritual and moral level. In a nutshell, if there was a shift in
priorities, and everyone dramatically cut back on the amount of meat
that they eat, they will feel better. But the often neglected corollary
is that our planet can then find the wherewithal to feed the hungry,
and the poor. As a biology grad (who studied medicine for awhile), I
know that this claim in Robbins' book is right on the money.

But it's really hard to be an ethical consumer, to make all the
difficult choices. Although I'm vegetarian, largely, I still eat meat
on occasion. And when I go to a friend's house, and she serves me
seafood or ground beef, I eat it with nary a concern, for I put people
before my politics.

Trade offs are always the order of the day. I stopped buying Shell gas
at one point, because of an environmental disaster they left behind in
Nigeria, (if memory serves). But Shell is one of the most progressive
oil companies when it comes to developing solar energy, and other
renewable resources, so I once again decided to give them some of my
business. I stopped buying at Imperial Oil after one local gas station
ripped me off, charging me for work not done (the company not respond
to my letters of complaint, either). But Imperial is one of the
country's most progressive companies, paying good wages, implementing
terrific pension plans, hiring and promoting women... And so it goes.
In Canada, the big banks are often vilified, but they also take great
pains to nurture their employees, and to hire women and minorities.

It's an incredibly deep subject, and it changes dramatically each year.
But I enjoy spending my money, what little I have, in positive ways.
And so I wear New Balance sneakers after Nike was found exploiting
child labour. Yes, they've since cleaned up their act, but it should
never have happened in the first place. I don't often buy products made
by Kraft or Nabisco, as their parent companies first made their
fortunes in the tobacco industry, with business practices that are
nothing short of immoral, in my opinion. This topic yesterday brought
forth a recommendation for Milo, but Nestle was blasted in Robbins'
book for selling breast milk replacement formulas in third world
countries that have actually contributed to a rising percentage of
infant deaths — since clean water is often so difficult to find... A
claim the company vehemently denies. And so it goes.

Embracing such sentiments can make you unpopular. When I worked for a
Nova Scotia newspaper, I wrote an editorial urging people not to buy
gas from Irving, one of Canada's largest businesses. You see, the
patriarch had just died, and as a provision of his will, his sons could
only inherit his billions by setting up permanent residence in Bermuda,
where personal wealth isn't taxed (or something like that). I wrote
that this was an amazing provision... here was the legendary KC Irving,
one of the world's richest men, and yet he felt no obligation to give
back to the region and country that made him rich beyond his wildest
dreams. He felt it was enough just to give people good jobs, and no
further generosity of spirit was needed. The morning the article ran,
every Irving company - dozens, in fact - pulled their advertising,
costing the newspaper more than $1 million in revenues. From that point
forward, understandably, no one from the advertising department would
speak with me again. (Interestingly, the current generation of Irvings
is giving back to the community).

On a more personal note, I ruined a recent purchase by my sister and
her family. When her husband decided to buy a luxury SUV, I gave her a
list of reasons why she should try to veto his decision. In the end,
Tom purchased the luxury SUV, but now my sister can't stand to drive
it. I've told her to let it go, and enjoy her beautiful new Infiniti, a
car that most people cannot afford, but she can't. I regret that,
though my intentions were good.

Interestingly, my views have also made it easier to talk with young
people. Several nieces and nephews, all teenagers, listened with rapt
attention as I described my way for making a difference in the world.
Their parents are having troubles reaching one or two, but I know that
I was getting through, helping them see the world in a different way.

So hopefully, I've given you a few ideas, and you can take it from
here... And my apologies to all who don't want to read such
commentaries on a web design list.

Cheers,

R


On 2-Jun-04, at 8:05 PM, Vicki Berry wrote:

> Richard wrote:
>> In general, I think a lot about how I spend my money, and how my
>> choices affect others living in the developing world, so I recommend
>> that everyone do the same. With a little research, listers may be
>> surprised at the business practices followed by favorite companies.
>
> Richard, I am becoming more and more aware of this side of things. I
> am ashamed to say I haven't got a fully developed social conscience
> but it is changing and now my main question is *how* do I make a
> difference?
>
> So how do you find out which companies use bad "business practices"?
>
>> In my world, drinking coffee almost takes on spiritual overtones. On
>> good days, I just savor the flavors (just as I used to do with wine),
>> and relax, breathing deeply, feeling the pain in my head easing a
>> notch or two. It's so profound... a quiet celebration of life's
>> goodness.
>
> Ditto. Decent coffee is one of my very few luxuries. (Mainly because
> I just cannot bear instant. Haha.)
>
> Vicki. :-)
_________________________________________________
R I C H A R D L E V A N G I E
The Best Coast Group • 902-431-0203
Web Design • DVD Production • Macintosh Consulting
http://www.thebestcoast.ca
http://www.gathering-of-artists.ca





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