Digging Inside Ethical Consumerism

Last Saturday morning, I found myself at the Greater Chicago Food Depository on a flex line filling emergency food boxes for subsequent distribution throughout Cook County—aka, Chicago.

Photo: Allison Voss

How and why I was filling the shoes of the volunteer that morning is really another story for another audience, but it touches on an aspect of ethical consumerism that I see as ascending in tandem with sustainable, natural and otherwise “green” initiatives taking hold across our cultural and edible landscapes. More people than ever are putting more thought into the many decisions they face every day, and that can only lead to heightened awareness, often instilling a bit of evangelical furor as a result.

Preservation is a key component to these myriad components. For instance, sustainability avoids depletion of finite natural resources. And providing assistance to those who need it most—whether homeless, in the throes of an emergency (flood, fire, etc.), out of work and broke, or otherwise in need—can very likely help preserve a person’s life, one step at a time.

As more questions arise related to the progeny and process surrounding food (and all aspects of consumerism, for that matter), I hope to see a tandem rising awareness of the need to help preserve and better not only our own lives, but those of others around us. So-called ethical consumerism cannot exist in a vacuum, and should not live and die in the aisles of the local Whole Foods or hybrid automotive dealership.

Making large-scale donations to local food banks on behalf of food manufacturers is great place to start. In my conversations at the food depository last Saturday, I discovered that although more volunteers are always welcome, the real need is for more donated food to distribute. Any manufacturers—particularly those in and around the Chicago area—who can find a way to donate should contact Tom Hayes at 773/843-6804. It will help more than you can ever begin to conceive.