After the end of year holidays, with their share of joy and excess, it’s time to turn the page on 2014 and make room for a bit of reflection. My own reflection was focused on the human, or more specifically the human being’s lifestyle.
Eyes fixed on our phones, headphones grafted to our ears, we prevent our senses from accessing the reality around us: the reality where glaciers are melting visibly, where species become extinct at a rate beyond the rules of nature, where our once fertile soils are getting poorer as our food needs continue to increase. A world where the rich get richer, where the poor are growing daily poorer, where many countries are still far from developed.
By contaminating our world, we are slowly committing suicide: genetically modified organisms (GMOs) infest our diet, the cancer rate increases, as do allergies (milk, gluten, nuts, sulfite, bovine, protein, etc.) and intestinal problems. A sick world generates cik men, and vice versa.
When I speak to people my own age, I sometimes think I might be hypersensitive to these causes. I am constantly watching what I eat, an obsession that drives me almost to the point of madness because no matter how much energy I devote to this task, I can not
Large multinationals control the world and its fragile ecosystem. The forests are cleared and burned, leaving room for GM monocultures sprayed with pesticides of all kinds which contaminate soil and groundwater.
Obviously, these lands are stolen from local populations of these developing countries, real icing on the cake, who can not practice their traditional forms of agriculture in a sick environment and are left to their poverty. All this for what?
But for our part, consumers can eat and drink to excess without worrying about the damage that we are endorsing. In our defense, we have to acknowledge the talent these multinationals employ in their communications and the way in which they sell us these products: how many billions of dollars must they spend on marketing and communication to create a positive image reinforced by beautiful advertisements and enticing labels?
Sometimes I too would like to close my eyes and just continue living my life without worrying about anything. The majority of people do that and seem to be doing well in any case. But a little voice inside me always resurfaces and pushes me in search of books, documentaries, and people like me who want to still believe that change is possible.
In order to not give up, I continue my little fight against this immoral society that is destroying our world. I continue to write, to denounce those who have imprisoned us in this era of consumption to consolidate their grip on our world. I continue to believe, to hope that everyone reflects before buying.
For my own part, I try to buy organic products as often as possible. Often more flavorful and with better nutritional value, they have a positive impact on our health and well-being. Grown through eco-friendly farming techniques, they save the health of not just us, but the Earth as well.
This surely isn’t the first article you’ve read on topics such as this, you’re probably already aware of these issues. But when the powers that be bombard you with images and advertisements, try to take everything in with a critical perspective, germinating within yourself a little seed of eco responsibility.
For humanity, as for the Earth, every action counts. Compost, fair trade, local, organic, less processed, more walking, more cycling, and less driving, so many parameters that will ensure a healthier life and lighten the burden on your conscience.
More and more I see articles that incite us to get out of our comfort zone. No matter which way you choose, go for it! Feel free, but involved, take risks, accept the change, make conscientious choices: only under these conditions that we can build the future.
I invite you to read these articles, written by committed young people including myself, and find the homepage of “Quebec days of international solidarity”.
http://jqsi.qc.ca/spip.php?article2893
For those of you who are curious:
Le monde selon Monsanto (BD documentaire)
GMO/ OMG, film by Jeremy Seifert
