Buy from the Heart!

It has been a while since I have written for the Owl Light. I have been inspire to type out an article in response to the recent social media proliferation of calls to boycott…this or that company.  I have also been emotionally charged by the loss of our canine companion and former Owl Light contributor, Æsc.

After the recent sudden loss of a canine friend, Æsc, I found myself seeking comfort in frequent shared time with my partner and our remaining companion animals, Miss Winnie and our feline shop companion Cat Stevens. I also spent a little time on social media (I currently do Facebook and Instagram, in part due to my role at Canadice Press) which meant seeing more postings about protests, including boycotts—yes, that is where my silo took me.  Not someone who generally enjoys shopping, I also found myself comfort shopping for used books. 

Let me begin this commentary by assuming that 99% of the people who live in the central portion of the North American continent (shared by our closest neighbors to the south, Mexico, and north, Canada) end up buying things that we don’t need that ultimately get thrown away—including food.  Perhaps this is in response to a loss or loneliness, a need to comfort shop as I have done with my recent book purchases. Perhaps it is a consequence of our pace of life.

I will also state that I believe that boycotting goods is one of the most powerful collective actions we can take to bring about change.  However, and this is where I differ from the myriad of social media pop ups calling for various companies to be boycotted, I believe that rather than boycotting a specific company or not buying on a specific day, a better approach is to buy from the heart.

Let me go back to my book buying spree as an example.  First, a confession, I started my recent buying spree at AbeBooks, as there was one title that I could not find anywhere else. As a consequence, I kept exploring the site and purchased others there.  AbeBooks has been a subsidiary of Amazon since 2008 and I am trying to buy less from Amazon (both to buy more responsibly and due to declining quality from many online sellers).  A better choice if buying from multiple booksellers is Thrift Books, as they are an independent company (although they also sell on Amazon…what a wicked web we weave).

Sorry, I digress. I love books and I am going to buy them, somewhere.  I also often give them away.  I do several things to lessen the impact on trees, environment in general, and to not feed the mega conglomerates (including a growing number of media moguls).  I buy used books whenever possible and I buy books, when possible, from community book sellers (in my local community and wherever I might travel). Even with my recent AbeBooks purchase, I ended up supporting eight different smaller book sellers (many of whom no longer have brick and mortar locations).

We could debate whether books are a luxury or a necessity (knowledge is power), but it is one of my addictions and how I buy books matters. In reality, how and what we all buy matters.  Taking the time to buy from the heart, taking into consideration sustainability and social impacts of each and every purchase we make keeps money in our communities and supports smaller businesses that care about the same things we do. Although I mention companies above, each of our needs (and obsessions) are different.  What is important is for each of us to buy wisely, a time consuming and onerous task indeed.

Let’s switch from books to food, something that we all need.  Here is where local matters most.  I see waste in our refrigerator, try as I might to rotate items and cook creatively.  When I raised chickens (more about that in a minute) I would give them vegetable peels and other scraps I preferred not to consume but they found great enjoyment in. I compost, which keeps the scraps cycling back into future gardens.  Nonetheless, there is waste (which means, in part, that we are spending money that does not need to be spent).

Folks used to eat what was available seasonally (or what could be preserved for later use).  We now have a global food market that lets us eat anything, anytime—if we are willing to pay the price.  Personal economics is one cost, but there are much larger costs including the poisoning of low paid field workers, agricultural interests destroying natural habitats and local sustainable agriculture (and livelihoods) to meet growing global demands, and the increased carbon footprint of shipping foods long distances to suppliers and buyers. 

Food is also one of the most individual of purchases; we all have unique food preferences, and need different things to stay physically and emotionally well.  All of us can grow some of what we love (be it a bucket on a roof or patio, a windowsill lemon tree, a straw bale garden in a side yard, or acres of sweet corn to sell).  This is a perfect time in history for a victory garden movement.  We can supplement what we grow by buying locally from farmers who care about the land—thereby supporting local communities while getting food that is fresh and rich in nutrients. 

Recycling is a big business venture that is negatively impacting global communities. Find ways to buy what you enjoy in bulk (local coops are one way to do this, or just with a group of like-minded friends).  We have made some changes that have reduced packaging waste, including buying nuts and peanuts in bulk (they come in large plastic bags) to snack and cook with, and for making our own nut butters (no more plastic containers).  We have also switched to a biodegradable liquid soap that we buy in large, albeit plastic, containers.  There is no guarantee that what we send to recycling (including electronics) is getting recycled or that human workers (mostly overseas) are not harmed by handling the waste we produce – less is more.

Back to chickens briefly.  I used to raise chickens for eggs and meat (we lost our last two hens, Cinnamon and Peaches, and decided to not keep chicken again, for now).  Not everyone has the space for chickens, but they are, as mentioned previously, great consumers of food scraps as well as very cool manure “machines”. When I first got my chickens I tried harvesting for meat.  I was able to butcher a few, but it just got more difficult each time. Along with buying from the heart, I believe it is important to eat from the heart. I am not advocating for anyone to stop eating what they enjoy, but do be aware of how the animals are treated and the impact on the individuals you eat.  I only eat what I can kill myself (which isn’t much); this may be a confusing rule for waiters, but it is one I can live with.

I could diverge into so many ways that I personally spend, and the costs.  Going back to the first paragraph and my mention of social media and Internet, I will touch briefly on the importance of being wise consumers of information as well as goods.  This includes, perhaps, moving away from Meta Platforms Inc. to more sustainable, smaller, social media platforms.  We are all trapped in information silos and the only way to negate this is to get information from as many sources as possible while being open to differing views—and effectively arguing against what we believe is harmful with the use of facts and research rather than rhetoric. 

Buying direct from companies that care about workers and act sustainably is a complicated and, at times, confusing commitment (and buying direct is sometimes more time consuming and costly).  Nonetheless, once you find companies you love you have a guarantee that what you purchase is a quality product (or service) and that in making that purchase you are not only meeting your needs but are benefitting (or at least minimizing harm) to others. Boycotting can be a positive tool for change, but rather than boycotting a specific company as part of a mass movement, let’s make the mass movement a lasting sustainable shift toward change in what and how we consume, a change that builds and supports communities. 

D.E. Bentley believes that an object in motion stays in motion. She loves learning new ways of creating and has, most recently, been experimenting with the design, carving, fabrication, and animation of human and animal figures using locally sourced wood and other materials from the land.  She lives, creates, and frolics in the Finger Lakes region of NYS.  When not creating, she can be found scrambling up hillsides or quietly conversing with her honey bees.