A few years back I made some New Year’s resolutions; one of which was to keep a regular diary. If the eclectic posting dates on this blog are anything to go by, you can guess that this was about as successful as a lead balloon. I’ve never considered New Year’s resolutions since. That’s why this year I’ve decided to throw resolutions out completely in an attempt to actually stick to one or two “goals”!
The last 6 months or so have been psychologically and financially significant for me; I’ve started, for the first time in my life, to mange my finances properly, set targets in my work and home life, eat more sensibly and healthier whilst being more socially aware. These things weren’t accidental: I worked towards them gradually, and I’m still a long way off perfecting them.
Whilst this gives me clarity and a target I want to achieve in the relatively near future, it’s also very confusing: I now know what I want but I don’t necessarily know how I’m going to achieve it or how long it will take.
- I’m managing my finances; but why? It’s not just to ensure that I’m not an identity theft victim (1 in 10 in the UK are!) or to ensure I’m not spending too much money on unnecessary alcohol, snacks and food: I want to increase my wealth by spending more economically. How can I measure my success at this, and how can I even start?
- I’ve set targets at work so that I can become more successful at what I do. What exactly is being successful at what I do? What exactly is desirable - what will make me more employable?
- At home I want to practice and get better at my hobbies. I want to learn to take much better photographs than I currently do. I want to make good progress on my projects whilst still being able to sit down, watch a film and have a drink.
How can I train, holiday and eat better food whilst not spending so much money? How can all the above tie-in with me being more environmental and socially conscious?
There’s a way… but I’m currently trying to find it. I’ll let you know what I find before the New Year.
The Sierra Club is America’s oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organisations whose aim is simply to protect communities and the world as a whole. Bimonthly they publish a free online magazine on a wide range of topics. This month they concentrate on how the world looks at food.
I recommend having a read of it, whether you agree with their sentiment or not, as the information provided is pretty useful. Just substitute ‘America’ for ‘Britain’ as we’re not far behind. Contents include:
Cheap Food Nation, written by Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness), is especially interesting. He notes that “Americans spend a smaller percentage of their income on food than any other nation, but it costs [them] dearly”;
Produce to the People discusses how Farmer’s Markets and Community Gardens are starting to challenge convenience and fast-food stores;
From Cotton to Collards concentrates on Alabama’s Farmers Market Authority who are connecting consumers and farmers with a ‘Buy Fresh, But Local’ campaign in order to target obesity;
Ten Ways to Eat Well, Secrets of the Supermarket, Truth in Labelling and the other articles are also well worth a read.
The one that struck me the most and left a lasting impression was the last page of the magazine, comparing how different countries consume food. It shows four pictures, each of a family with a week’s worth of food:
Cuchumatán, Guatemala
California, USA
Beijing, China
Kouakourou, Mali
Don’t just look at the foods, their apparent quality and packaging - take note of the number who must share this food.
Well, this lunch-time I’m off to the market to get some shopping. I suggest you do the same.
On my way to the wonderful Trumps Coffee Shop on Bute Street to pick up my lunch for today, I spotted a building under development right in the heart of the Cardiff Bay area. Intrigued, I walked past to discover that it is to be a Starbucks – a few minutes walk away from the independently owned and run Trumps and 10 steps away from Coffee Mania, another chain.
I’m not going to digress into anti-globalisation rhetoric or argue a case for resisting multi-national corporations. After all, I’m an advocate – realising that they have their problems like all other ideologies but they’re a necessity in this world we live in. Neither am I particularly anti-Starbucks – after all, you don’t build up a global empire with a business plan that doesn’t appeal to anyone. Plus, Starbucks is a long way from the worst corporate neighbour, with an environmental mission statement, progressive labour benefits and a host of cooperative charitable activities – whether they stick to them or not. It’s not my place to play with facts and hearsay.
What I do have a problem with though is unethical predatory business practices where free enterprise is overshadowed by unfair competition and Starbucks taking the successful elements from coffee shop culture and mass-producing it for each of its venues.
Quirky and eccentric local hotspots are replaced with generic, uninteresting coffee shops with no character – apart from the ‘art’ that is hung on the walls… produced by the marketing team and available to buy.
Instead of unique or unusual coffee blends we now have the Frappuccino®. Omitted are the diverse musical tastes of the clientele or staff played through the store, and instead we’re offered a branded CD that wouldn’t be unsuitable as an ‘easy-listening’ background piece at your next pseudo-intellectual (read: pretentious) dinner party.
It’s not all bad though – here in Cardiff there are only 4 (now 5) Starbucks in the entire city and maybe an extra 10 or so other coffee shops that are chain-owned. In the 5-mile radius around Cambridge Circus in London there are 165 Starbucks – click here and see how many are in your area? Can you beat that?
(Want my opinion and not just my observations though? I believe Starbucks sell fake corporate and ecological responsibility as a way to rid itself of its 1999 WTO image as the evil face of globalisation and I would walk twice the distance to get a cup of coffee somewhere else – even though it isn’t all that bad!)