Voting at the Union Square Greenmarket
Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed. - Mohandas K. Gandhi
You possess unlimited power in your pocket. Every time you pull your wallet out to buy something, you are casting your most powerful vote. Money talks... it makes people snap to, and it makes companies pay attention. Let's face it, money makes the world go round. It may be a ridiculous, sad reality, but it's reality. The awesome thing is that knowledge is power, and you can use it to your advantage! You can even have fun with it by buying things that are consistent with the change you want to see in the world.
In today's world, your dollar is your strongest voice. Are you wielding your power to its max? Use it to support the things you care about. Every time you buy something, you have an opportunity to cast a vote for your cause(s). By purchasing things that reflect your values, you are successfully working the system. :) Go you! Of course, you have to be aware of what you want to support, but we're confident you have the awareness.
We l-o-v-e food shopping because it's an opportunity to create demand for the things we care about (in addition to finding tasty things to eat.)
What MindfulEats shops for:
- high-quality ingredients: if it's going in our mouths, we prefer the good stuff
- environmental sustainability: no chemicals/pesticides, happy animal products from farms instead of industrial Orwellian nightmares, minimal shipping from local farms or efficient shippers, unendangered seafood that is sustainably caught
- good farming practices: chemical-free with good land management
- fair-trade: employees work in safe conditions and receive fair wages
- seasonal produce: if it's fresh and not seasonal, it comes from someplace far away or it's grown under unnatural conditions
- responsible owners: we support owners/retailers that are committed to it's impact on the community
This is just a partial list of values we support. To make it fun, the list is even more extensive and we have lists for non-food items too!
What to do: Shop Mindfully
- Figure out what values are important to you. The above list is part of what we look for in brands/companies/growers. Some of the other things you might consider are: where the item is manufactured, how labor is treated, environmental practices, animal rights, the company's political beliefs.
- Research the items that you buy. Learn more about the companies and the growers. Be old-fashioned and talk to the retailers and growers you frequent. Develop relationships. Go online and see if they have a web presence where you can learn more. If it's a large company, look in this database and see where they make corporate donations to make sure they support your causes.
- If you shop for certain items frequently, find the people/brands you trust and respect, and support them. This might seem like a lot of work, so just figure out where and what you shop for the most and start with those. You probably get 75% of the things you shop for that way. Flex your power and make your dollar count!
Want some ideas on where to use your power to shop for real food? Check out the Food Renegade blog carnival!
What I ate: 16 oz. green juice, Barbara's oat cereal + SkyTop milk, whole wheat spaghetti + Rao's Siciliana sauce, 2 tangerines, 2 oz. pumpkin seeds, 24 oz. Good Earth tea, 1 coffee, 6 oz. Stonybrook strawberry yogurt, 1 apple, 1.5 oz. chocolate, 1 tiny shrimp taco, 2 tiny seared seared tuna on rice cakes, 2 tiny grilled cheese squares, 7 almonds, 1/2c. quonia, steamed tofu + broccoli + mushrooms, 1 hot chocolate, 45 oz. water
Exercise: none
