Going Green: When Health Doesn’t Mean Sustainability
Do you buy organic? Do you frequent the local farmers market? Have you swapped out Clorox for Seventh Generation, Dawn Dish Detergent for Mrs. Meyers, your PowerBar for a Larabar? Do you make sure that you hit your local gym – or better yet your local yoga class – at least a few times a week? Do you tend to view both your body and the planet as sacred spaces?
Source: oldschool.davidwesterfield.net
If you do, chances are you’re what marketers consider a LOHAS – an acronym for the phrase Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. Comprised mostly of individuals focused on health and fitness, the environment, personal development, sustainable living and social justice, the LOHAS market segment can be broadly defined as a group that thinks about the social, health and ethical repercussions of their consumer purchases. Companies such as lululemon athletica, Pom Wonderful (the pomegranate juice people) and Green and Black chocolates all fall within the LOHAS niche.
On the one hand, the relative transparency of LOHAS products, in contrast to the opaqueness of traditional products that often conceal fairly pretty abhorrent environmental and labor conditions, is a refreshing breath of fresh air. Having companies talk about the environmental effects and the social repercussions of their products is vital if we want to usher in sustainability. On the other hand, this market positioning takes three very distinct categories – namely health, social ethics, and environmental sustainability – and twists them so they fit a very limited, often inaccurate narrative.
Organic doesn't mean healthy. Source: cogdogblog on flickr.com
Yes these categories overlap in places. Organic produce, for example, is better for the planet and better for us given that they contain fewer cancer causing and hormone disrupting chemicals [1] and potentially more nutrients. They’re even, better for farm workers because organic farms expose their workers to fewer harmful chemicals. And yet, just because something’s organic doesn’t mean it’s healthy. The organic sticker on a pack of Newman-O’s cookies doesn’t mean that suddenly these treats are anything but, to borrow a phrase from our reformed friend Cookie Monster, a “sometimes food”.
Most people don’t realize that, however.
A 2010 study in the journal of Judgment and Decision Making found that when people eat an organic dessert they feel that the organic label is license to eat the food more often and to even forgo exercising. Some even went so far as to state the mistaken opinion that organic desserts have fewer calories than their non-organic counterparts. Much to the sadness of my waistline, chocolate cake at the end of the day is still chocolate cake – organic or not.
This problem isn’t just with organics. The rise in the Western demand for quinoa has, according to a March 2011 New York Times article, increased the price of Quinoa in Bolivia to a point that this traditional food is increasingly inaccessible to a significant number of Bolivians. More and more of them are turning to cheaper processed foods in the process raising concerns over increasing rates of malnutrition.
Quinoa. Source: borderlys on flickr.com
How is that ethical consumption?
Similarly, coconut water’s popularity is particularly puzzling since many of the same individuals who shun purchasing bottled water, because the bottles cause so much waste, seem oblivious to the fact that harvesting young coconuts, bottling their water, and then shipping it halfway around the world is not necessarily the most eco-friendly thing to do. Here in New York, a local environmental organization even had a major coconut water manufacturer serve as an event sponsor. And yet, the shipping emits a not-insignificant amount of carbon while the plastic bottles often not recycled also require the substantial use of fossil fuels in their manufacture.
Source: sakeeb on flickr.com
The theories as to why we tend to connect things, such as environmental sustainability with health, are complex, but essentially boil down to the fact that analyzing labels to tease out the health, environmental, and social benefits is hard work, and our brain has a tendency to want to take shortcuts. It does so by effectively lumping all of the positive attributes together even when they don’t exist. What this means on a practical level is that, even the best of us are likely to being duped by vague product claims, putting another nail in the coffin of the idea that individual action is enough to stem the tide.
can't forget my fav bottled water, fiji, bottled in fiji and shipped to the US for consumption, awesome!
Rob, I'm in the US too and like you I try to buy local and sustainable i.e. from farmers I know as opposed to being focused on the organic label.I'm excited that you're excited for my book :). I'm excited to be releasing it as well. @igushonti that's a tricky question. My parents are immigrants to the US from Haiti and I definitely grew up frequenting small ethnic markets for specific products ranging from types of chicken (which are at least raised regionally) to mangoes and plantains (which are not). Food miles are actually a small component of food unsustainability - packaging, waste, are much bigger deals - while the distorting of local food markets is a huge social issue. I don't think relatively small immigrant communities are the problem - it's the wholesale appropriation of imported foodstuff as the basis of a diet that's problematic. I think what we touch on when we look at Quinoa and pomegranate juice is a loss of culinary culture in the West. In contrast to immigrants who feel a strong connection with the food they grew up eating, in the West we increasingly see food as medicine and are willing to eat whatever foods provide the best medicinal result. Hence the exotification of foods - there is no reason, for example, that those of us in the northeast "need" to be consuming pomegranates instead of blueberries (another nutrient superfood and extremely local to those of us in the Northeast). At the same time, pomegranates and quinoa can often be grown locally in the US - they just aren't mostly. I think you would be surprised at how many of the food stuff's in those markets are grown relatively closeby because a lot of the stuff doesn't travel. One of the only places around here where you can find garlic scapes, for example, is the local Korean market. Garlic scapes are only available for about two weeks in the spring and don't ship well, so clearly they must have a regional supplier. I think we can find a happy medium between foods grown locally and foods that are imported. Ideally the imported foods will be imported wholly (i.e. not in tons of coconut water bottles but rather whole coconuts where we consume the entire thing and reduce the packaging etc).
Interesting article- im currently looking at London planner's role in supporting and enforcing sustainable and healthy food sources. I found the point about western demand for quinoa interesting, In London we have a diverse range of communites who are often segregated into their own communities, Many people promoting sustainable food here are particularly keen to support local independent shops as opposed to the big markets, but while these shops may support healthy eating many focus on the provision of 'foreign foods' I know because I usually shop there for my plaintain and Yam. Im not currently looking into it or know of anyone else or organisation that is, but I wonder...Is there an educational gap on the 'organic truth' and are planners ready to challenge sections of the community on the less sustainable food choices?
I look forward to the author's forthcoming book, Green Washed. Wanted to mention that in the U.S., some small, independent farmers have trouble affording the costs of getting U.S. Government certification as "organic," but their produce is sustainably raised, so I do not always seek out the "organic" label (I live in the U.S.).
[...] Health Doesn’t Mean Sustainability by Kendra on Jan 2, 2012 • 4:10 pm No Comments Over at The Urban Times I write about how often we conflate healthy foods with environmentally sustainable foods. [...]
[...] water’s accessibility and sustainability is questionable, and frozen fruit – well, what frozen fruit? It’s March in NYC. I promote seasonal, local [...]