How Much Choice Should Consumers Have?

0 thoughts on “How Much Choice Should Consumers Have?”

  1. Hey Janina, I love your post!

    I think with what concerns what we buy the main thing is that we do vote with our wallets: when an item gets scanned, it sends information to stock control who know that they need to replenish it again. Whether that product is sustainable or not, it will create a base for further demand.

    It’s because I think this is how it goes in general that I chose to switch to a vegan diet, to avoid suppporting something I believe is not sustainable (and creating awareness around me when people ask me why I did it).

    I think people need more information to make their decisions on whether to buy imported or local, organic or not, vegetarian or not.

    Knowledge is key to have an opinion and it would definitely help if there was some sort of “eco” label reassuring you something was sustainable (similarly to the effect of the Fairtrade or an organic labelled product).

    But you are right, even then, how strict would the criteria have to be?

    I find it ok for me as it’s interesting and I’m passionate about sustainability but I guess it would help as some people may care about where their food comes from but haven’t enough time/will/motivation to look things up themselves.

    1. It always puzzles me when people seem to be clueless about where their food comes from until I realize that I literally spent hours every day reading up about food systems and still don’t understand everything – how can we expect people with different interests and priorities to be just as knowledgeable? That is where quick do-this-not-that advice or just plain choice editing might be considered helpful, not patronizing – but it’s a very fine balance. Thanks for commenting and your Gothenburg tips!

  2. Your course sounds great – and it’s also great that you’re sharing it: very thought provoking.

    For me, I definitely think it would be good to be able to shop without having to think about standards of production too much. I think it’s hypocritical if we “export” low standards of responsibility (ethical, environmental, etc.) that wouldn’t be allowed in this country in order to import cheap(er) foods and other products.

    But I also think it is better to try and work with producers to improve production methods rather than just turn away from them completely.

    1. That is an important point I failed to bring up, good thing you caught it! It is definitely important to work on improving production systems together, especially as producers in poorer regions of the world often don’t have the resources or knowledge to make necessary adjustments – including, of course, that here products are often undervalued and thus not enough money flows back to the primary producer to allow them to produce at the higher cost that sustainable practices often entail.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *