Can the growing vegan movement have a real impact on factory farming? And can zero-waste advocates instigate a change in the way we as a civilization deal with waste and packaging? These two and many other related questions are becoming increasingly important in the shadow of a looming global ecological catastrophe, but it is equally important to ask who is responsible for the current situation and to what extent can changing consumer behavior affect it.
In this article, I also address the following questions:
- What influence do eco-activists have on production?
- Is the customer really the master of production?
- Who has the power to force manufacturers to produce environmentally friendly and safely?
- Why are European rules justified in the shadow of the ecological crisis?
Ecological movement
So-called biomothers, zero-waste individuals and communities, vegans, supporters of waste separation or people who proactively collect waste from the streets and nature in their free time. These and numerous other groups of people have a personal interest in ensuring that their personal impact on the environment is not negative, but positive, or at least neutral. It is a virtue that is becoming increasingly necessary, especially in times when the impact of humanity as such on the environment is extremely unfavorable, perhaps in every possible way. It seems that even targeted tree planting is not necessarily the right solution, because in the end it is still a human intervention in nature.
We covered this topic in a separate article on UnitedLife.sk. It looks like The most a person can do for nature is to simply leave it alone. Although such hunters would undoubtedly be able to make strong arguments about how the overpopulation of a certain species of animal would cause major problems – for us, humans.
The efforts of individuals and communities to achieve a neutral impact on the environment cannot be ridiculed or even considered wrong. The approach of "ecologically active" people only hits upon a misunderstanding and a natural fear of losing the standard of living that humanity has purposefully built for itself, and increasing it is the natural goal of each of us.
But the real question is not whether the call to reduce people's impact on the environment is correct, the real question is who holds the real responsibility. Do individuals, even if there are tens or hundreds of millions of them, have any influence on what and how will be produced?
Unlimited demand, unlimited supply. Illustrative photo. Author: Bernard HermantDemand is the master of production, …
"Do you think that the director is the master of production? This too, the master of production is demand"," says the character Busman in the original play RUR, written by Karel Capek.
This is a powerful idea, but it shifts the responsibility for production onto the customers themselves. It assumes that the greater the demand for a certain good, the more producers will want to satisfy that demand, using means that may not be in line with the rules of social responsibility. But this conclusion is only part of the truth. It is an idea that answers questions about the quantity and quality of the product itself, not about the method of its production. People don't want a product because it is harmful or because its production involved concepts such as modern slavery, the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, or the degradation of drinking water.
When vegans demand a diet free of animal products, they do so for ideological reasons. However, if we all became vegan, many animal species would become extinct (cows, pigs, chickens) because they would no longer have any purpose – they are bred only for human consumption. Apparently, a large number of additional forests would have to be cut down to make room for growing plant-based food for all of humanity. So their intention to have an ecologically clean product does not necessarily mean that they will help nature.
A customer may, through their interest, encourage the safe production of a product, but in reality, they will only create a new product - the original, not entirely safe in terms of production, will continue to be produced for other customers.
Is the consumer really responsible for what is sold in stores? After all, he only buys what is available. Illustrative photo. Author: Phuong Tran...but customers buy what's on sale
"Some people say, 'Give customers what they want.' But that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, 'If I'd asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, "A faster horse!"' People don't know what they want until you show it to them. That's why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.” – Steve Jobs (source).
In one of his many interviews, Steve Jobs revealed more about his way of looking at the market.
Instead of market research, he evidently trusted more in the intuition and expertise of specialists who know better how the product market should develop. Jobs argued that customers do not actually know what they want. His role, in this case as a manufacturer and developer, is to create for them what they will want. As an example, he cited the pioneer of the automotive industry Henry Ford, who, according to him, would not have succeeded if he had asked people what they wanted. Most of them could not even imagine such a car at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
This idea is extremely valuable in our context because it points to the reality of production and its impact on the environment. And to who holds the real responsibility. If it is the task of companies to develop and develop products, it is also their responsibility to do so safely. Their goal is a cheap, high-quality and safe product, as another great man, Tomáš Baťa, put it:
"The well-being of the entire population in the country can only be built when production serves trade and trade serves production. In this way, people employed in production get enough work and a good income, and people working in trade achieve large turnovers and large profits, of course, because both production and trade helped customers to get cheap goods. The whole point and human mission of trade and traders is to find ways to help their customers get good and cheap goods," states Tomas Bata in his speech published in the book Reflections and Speeches.
In the first half of the 20th century, Baťa could not have guessed how negatively large-scale production would affect the world, but we can certainly estimate that he would have considered improving production for the benefit of the environment to be important - this follows from his lifelong work and personal intention to improve the quality of the environment in which we live.
It is true that although people seemingly want products that are already on the market, they cannot be held responsible for having bought them and thereby actually supporting the way they are produced. The manufacturer is responsible for ensuring safe production, and the whole process begins with the development of the product, together with the concept of its safe production. Higher authorities have and are able to exert pressure on manufacturers – legislators in Europe, North and South America, China, Russia and Africa. At present, the most active authority in this context is the European Union, or rather the European Commission. We can feel its efforts in the financial support of environmentally safe production methods for new and transforming companies, in the adoption of strict emission standards for the automotive industry, in the support of waste separation, and so on. Toys and products imported into Europe from other continents must also meet the criteria for material design and can only be sold after they have been homologated.
The United States has a different approach to product marketing – while Europe is preemptive, the US prefers openness to everything and then banning the inappropriate. Of course, regulations are also valid in the US, but the discrepancy between EU and US policy was the subject of the so-called Transatlantic Agreement, which the now-deceased Professor Baláž wrote about for UnitedLife.
An exterior warehouse full of goods destined for export. Their price will increase further due to duties and taxes. Illustrative photo. Author: Sean FosterCustoms and taxes
At the global level, restrictions on the movement of goods across markets come into play. If it is not possible to ban imports, there is another way, especially popular in the US as a way to protect the domestic economy: tariffs and taxes. By overcharging imported products and raw materials, such as steel or cars, the market can become less interested in the already expensive products and raw materials and demand will be satisfied at home.
However, this approach distorts the market and negatively affects consumer behavior - even if a customer would prefer a product made with respect for the environment, he will not have the opportunity to choose it because it was not produced by a company that the state prefers. In this case, we again end up with the responsibility for the ecological safety of production being in the hands of higher authorities and governments.
"All reasonable people in America wish for economic cooperation, because they know that it benefits both parties. In practice, however, this cooperation is carried out unilaterally. American manufacturers even managed to obtain a monopoly in Europe for the supply of many articles, such as sewing machines, calculating machines, cars, etc. Unfortunately, American manufacturers are proceeding just as energetically in preventing counter-service. As soon as a European manufacturer manages to catch up with an American competitor, the latter rushes to Washington and enforces the introduction or increase of the tariff, and if the European manufacturer does not give rest even then, he will increase the tariff even more. I speak for myself experience," writes Tomáš Baťa about customs and taxes.
It makes sense to put pressure on the authorities
From the above it follows that changes in consumer behavior can have an impact on the market and the product offering, but ultimately the responsibility for environmentally and health-safe production lies with the producers themselves and the legislators who set the limits for the producers. They should be able to provide the producers with clear rules for production, set limits, monitor their compliance and sanction companies that do not comply with the laws.
So can an individual consumer change the world of production and positively influence its impact on the environment? Probably yes, if they focus on correctly targeting their appeal to the aforementioned higher authorities, legislators.
For fun – if you are interested in nature in its original pure form and the diversity and prospects of life on Earth, don't miss the most extensive documentary from the legendary David Attenborough with the name A LIFE ON OUR PLANET.