Nation of Bulimics - not the eating kind

One of the pleasures of our Sunday mornings is reading the Saturday Times on our leisure - and loads of coffee to go with it, 3 cups at least. It's also the only paper we read.

This morning Janice Turner's column caught my eye - she's one of my favourite columnists, always takes a 'different but thought-provoking' view on news-issues. It could be that my partner and I originate from The Netherlands, THE nation of prudent savers where a credit card is still alien to most and something you only might use when going abroad to a far, far away country - her article had me nodding my head in total agreement.

Shop, Eat, Purge - We've become a nation of bulimics

It starts with the revaluations from John Prescot on his bulimic tendencies but then turns into a typical Janice Turner interesting twist on the matter, by making a comparison many Brits would not really care for to hear or read. One of last paragraphs really brings the message home:

"But now when we drink more expensive beer - land that once grew hops having been turned over to ethanol-producing corn - we have some distant connection with Asia's empty rice bowls. Maybe we will realise the insanity of pretending we are saving the planet by pumping the West's SUVs with the hungry's cereal crop. Maybe we'll realise that the only solution is to consume less.

And when I hear teenagers contemptuous of a model of mobile phone because it's six months old, or when a young woman with a good job tells me she has 50 pairs of shoes, £6,000 on her cards, but thinks she'll never own her own home, I wonder if this is a bad thing."

Comments

[annvmichael]

Wow Karin, that is thought-provoking. It's all about self awareness and prioritization, isn't it!

[Karin H.]

Hi Ann

It is in my book ;-) Specially in a time when the media are selling us the soap-opera of recession. Most could afford what they need if they just stopped wasting so much on the latest fad or on 'keeping up with the Joneses'.

In her article Janice also mentions the fact that so much food is been thrown out by most UK households. Not because it's past its sell-buy-date, but because they either bought too much or made too much.
Last week the chairman of the UK's fruit growers society had the following advice when asked about this same statistic: "I suggest one buys less apples per time than throwing away 5 a week"
Although his 'trade' would benefit from more sales he shows pride in his product (should be eaten, not thrown away without a caring thought) and he's got my vote on sound advice!

Waste not, want not?

Karin H.

[Mike Wagner]

It is amazing how easy it is for us to practice a form of collective self-deception.

Thanks for stirring things up with this post.

Keep creating...a message worth repeating,
Mike

[Karin H.]

Hi Mike

We all do, don't we, even if we start of with high ideals to save the world ;-) Life on the 'grind-stone' seems to take over and posts like Janice's shake us up a bit again.

Karin H.