Re:Query: labels and consumer ed for social change
Leslie L. Pelch (lpelch@zoo.uvm.edu)
Mon, 20 Jan 1997 11:44:20 -0500 (EST)
Dave, I think that this is a great topic, one of the most important as
long as we live in a "free
market" economy. I want to make a picky response to Elgin Freeman's
observations about people being caught up in the quickly changing
consumerist rush of our culture: he said " If you stop or even slow down
you'll sink and get crushed by the on rushing crowd going no where."
I think that many of us know that this is not true! We all make choices
about how to run our life as well as what food we eat and what businesses
we support and how we treat strangers on the street, and while they may
not always be easy in the context of the rushing crowd, we can usually
build a strong enough island to stick with them. Rather than
agreeing that life in the 90's is just out of control, lets talk about how
simple decisions can regain control, and how everyone can bring their values
back into those decisions; I have always thought of this as the meaning
of empowerment. I believe that a change in consumer values is
the most likely way to facilitate sweeping changes in agriCULTURE (and it
can only work if labeling affords full information about products), as
well as many other aspects of our lives.
Leslie Pelch
Burlington, VT
lpelch@zoo.uvm.edu