A common commercial and we all rush in. Are they really throwing away so many free? They are in business right, then how can they give so many free for buying a few? We always bought when there was a need. Now we are buying everything possible since there is an offer or otherwise. All the companies are overproducing and are selling their waste and garbage as offers.
World is facing over consumerism. People are buying everything without reason and hardly know the needs. We have a problem of obesity in the world for a simple reason of overeating. In American food industry, the sizes have been increasing over years. Everything is served in big sizes; an ordinary burger has increased in size at least by two to three times in couple of decades. People are overeating as the companies lure them with offers. They just want money and more money at any cost. The idea is best margin and higher profit by spending less. 
Everything in the world is growth, every body wants higher growth. A steel maker wants to increase his capacity, a car maker wants to make more cars and everybody wants to increase their production. We assume we will be prosperous by this growth. Produce more to earn more. The future superpower 
World is building and enormous amount of cement, sand and steel are used. How long will these raw materials last? There is a limit to the resources. World’s greed is using up every possible resources like metals, stones, sand and everything. Finally we may be left with earth with moon surface. Most of the producers are making cheap products which do not last and end up as garbage and cannot be recycled.
How many of us know how to use water. Billions of litres of water is wasted in the country by the poorly built low quality leaking taps. These low quality taps are flooded in the market and have used up lot of resources and are a strain on the country and planet. Lot of water is wasted even in farming without proper practice. And farming itself is causing lot of problems to the earth. Rivers are drying up. The rivers which used to flow in full are filled with dirty sewage water and hardly move.
Massive scale of agriculture is altering the normal ecosystem. We need enormous amount of food, for huge population we are bringing on to earth. What about the food we waste, how many of us are conscious about the wastage of food. Forget overcooking or over ordering in a hotel. If you have seen a hostel mess you will know, how people waste food. They are greedy; they take more than they can chew and end up throwing food. Just imagine all around the world food being thrown in a day from different situations.
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Indiscriminate usage of resources is hurting the ecosystem. We are not bothered about it. Earth is going to be there, even after we have left, but with a desert. PS: All the pictures are copied from Google search, for illustrations only.
Mama, this is very good point which you have raised, particularly wasting water and food. Many of IT companies throw food that's left, when asked they say their policy doesn't allow the food to be given to any orphanage or old age house. One more point I want to add to the list, over usage of tissue papers, everywhere you see people use papers. Be it in restaurants, washrooms, cars. We have almost stopped using hanky.
ReplyDeleteSivaprasad, you have raised a few very interesting points here. Though I agree with the theme of your discussion which is wastage,I beg to differ regarding few opinions. I certainly agree with your point regarding production of cheap and sometimes useless articles by companies. Your opinion regarding recycling is very valid and I think we all need to recycle to avoid dumping waste in landfill sites and destroying the environment. overeating, binge eating leading to obesity is the next big epidemic staring at our face and is going to blow over in the next few decades. But what is sad though is the opposing extremes the world is facing. There are areas suffering the worst drought in 60 years in the Horn of Africa and on the other hand there are places where people overeat and throw excess food.
ReplyDeleteMy disagreemnet with you is regarding agriculture. We need mass production of food but we need to use the resources economically during this process. What we need, and I think you will agree, is more mechanisation in the field of agriculture. We need machinery which will lead to effficient usage of resources be it manpower, water or fertilizers. The population of the earth is rapidly growing and we will need food to sustain this. Otherwise, the next great war might be fought for food or land to produce food. There are already regions in the world where civil wars are breaking out for this reason( the other obvious alternative is to control population!!! But lets not get started on this.)
Hi,
ReplyDeleteRead a couple of your articles.Did not know that you write so well. Congrats!!
I wish to say that your comments need to go to the general public at large so that many people with even a little sense can make a lot out of it. Shall be in touch.
Pl write on medical politics also!
Regards,
Anil Sangli
i agree with uthappa but also like to rise few concerns, the farmer is completely neglected, cost of production has almost trippled but the prices have stalled. getting labour in right time is difficult due to free ration 35 kg rice, as per labour laws 160 bugs for 8.5 man hours, but farmers are paying nearly, same amt for 4 hours, we will end up in severe food short in next 10 years due to neglect by govt. only cooperative and mechanised farming with and attachement of agri labours to rural employment scheme for free ration in their respective village is the need of the hour.
ReplyDeleteThanks everybody, I wish many could participate and spread the word around so that atleast we can learn to be more green conscious and live life in moderation. Agriculture is growing to feed millions which are being added to the world. What I like to say is moderation in food and reducing the wastage of food can cut down so much of unnecessary food being grown. Overeating and the wastage of food are the culprits. You must be aware of grains and food stock rotting in the country and govt does not want to give it free, in spite of supreme court ordering. I can go on, that's enough for now.
ReplyDeletePlease do share this with your friends.
Dear Dr.SP,
ReplyDeleteI think you have tried to address to points in this blog. one is that of consumerism and the other wastage. Or you say both are interlinked(in fact they are).
You always have costlier and good quality alternative for every product that you buy, it only comes with a fat price tag.
the point i am trying to make is ,the product should be worth the money we spend on it. It becomes immaterial if it is cheap or expensive. It should be rightly priced. This awareness if we all get the problem of wastage can be solved to a larger extent.
In an economy which runs mainly on demand and supply, if customer is well aware, the problem arising out of cheaper low quality goods or unnecessarily heavily priced items will be avoided to a larger extent.
Good onservation Shiv, which is true the current age...U hv very appropriately highlighted the in-trend in going on a shopping spree more than what is actually necessary... Few points one could bear in mind before shopping/ordering consumables, to bring down wastage or needless spending are:
ReplyDelete1.One should excercise some level of maturity when ordering food in any restaurant or eating outlet.More often than Not,when ever a bunch of Professionals(mainly IT) visit an elite down-town restaurant, they would be more enthusiatic in surveying the menu before placing the order,with one suggestion after another pouring-in from all directions!Least would anyone have thought of their actual likes or dislikes or even their consumable quanity giving basic due respect to their physical body :-0. It is needless to say how eccentric the situation could be,if it is a company sponsored lunch/dinenr event :-).The cleaner at the end will have to bear the brunt of removing all the ample left overs, which merrily contributeto the already humongous garbage dump...If only any social sense had prevailed in the people feasting & wasting ,they could have had a limited & decent meal contributing some amount to a charity, which they would have blown up wasting otherwise!
Another concept to be brought to practice is to think in way that doing a grandeur shopping with family on a Weekend, cannot be attributed as a way to live weeekends.It has just become a pseudo-thinking that one gets to receive more social respect,especially on a Monday back from weekend in office, if they do high-ticket shopping on the previous weekend.For a typical pleasantry question on a Monday morning, which is -"Hey Buddy..Howz the wkend?? :-)-few are on the illusion that if keywords like MAll,multiplex,Offer, and not to forget the 'High price", they would be looked at in a better perspective.
I'am somehow for the concept of different price levels for similar product.Of coarse, needless to say there'd be distinction in quality, which even the manufacturer couldnt hv helped.This alteast provides an opportunity for people of different economic strata to go ahead shopping their dream product, instead of not being able to afford at all.
Karthik,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments.
You are right about the consumerism, like I told about the food, there is an article which showed up in Dawn newspaper, http://www.dawn.com/2011/07/21/india-weddings-faulted-for-prodigious-food-waste.html
We have to address these issues.