On Being a Conscientious Consumer and a Good Steward

One of the purposes/missions of our new lifestyle- on our journey to buy land and live differently than we do now. My thoughts- sometimes scattered, but enjoy if you like. 🙂

 

On Shopping.

Retail Therapy-we all know this term. When one is feeling down and depressed, it often helps to drive to the mall and browse….and maybe buy.

Impulse Shopping- another well known term. When one is at the store and sees an awesome pair of shoes for half off or a new flavor of ice cream. Just have to have it. Throw it in the cart- credit card charge.

But what about the terms “Conscientious Consumer” and “Conscious Consumer?”

I had always used these terms but was surprised by how common they are. I used the terms ideally, as goals for my life, aspirations. I just entered the phrases into Google and was quite surprised by the results. Apparently, conscientious consumerism is not an unheard of or uncommon term. Many are trying to think more as consumers, and that movement gives me hope.

 

A Part of Our Mission

My husband and I are buying land (about 10 acres) with hopes of growing our own food and raising animals for food. There are many reasons why we are choosing this lifestyle, and there are many aspects that may come into question from those of you who know us but believe we may be a bit crazy right now. My last post discussed food, which was (partially) the beginning of this journey for us. The search for real food led us to wanting to grow our own, but our overall mission is about so much more than food.

Most US Citizens are natural consumers. We buy. We buy food. We buy clothes. We buy stuff. We buy…but rarely do we really think about what we buy. Now, initially, most of  us will claim this isn’t true (or instinctively want to). You spend your money wisely- you budget and save and only buy what you need. But, it’s not about the money or the savings. It’s about the need. Do we really need all the junk we buy? Or do we buy because we have bought into a belief system that tells us we need it, or we deserve it, or it’s just what everyone else is doing?

Why do women buy so many body products and so much makeup?

Why do people throw out old clothes and old shoes and old purses once they rip?

Why do we buy so many cool gadgets which we rarely use and end up in a drawer a year later, never to be used again?

Why do we feel the need to have the latest editions/versions of everything?

 

Sometimes, we really do need something. Sometimes.

But, most of the time we probably don’t.

 

Our food journey inspired us to inspect our lifestyle. We questioned why we ate what we did. We questioned where it originated. We questioned. This questioning led us to other lifestyle investigations. It led us to question and that made us want to do so more often. I know, I know, the word “question” has just lost all meaning. But, what we did by questioning is what we want to continue doing. We want to be conscious.

One of our major goals for our life together sounds so simple- THINK. Why do we feel that we need to paint the walls of our new house once we move? Why do we need a new washer and dryer? Why do we need a riding lawnmower? Why do we want to eat out tonight? Why? Is it necessary? Is it best? Are we simply doing this because it is what we do? Because it is what everyone else does? Are we thinking? Are we aware?

We may come to a decision to eat out- we are tired, don’t have time to cook, or want to see friends. But, it is not so much the end decision as the discussion. The consideration of options. The questioning.

Is it worth it to have cheap meat at the expense of our health and at the expense of animal mistreatment?

Is it worth the pollution of the environment to not have to work as hard to mow the lawn?

It’s about the conversation, about being conscientious.

It’s scary when you start this conversation (why some will probably want to avoid it). As the blog continues, I will show where these conversations have led us.

I’ll be honest. I like doing things the way I have always done them. I like modern conveniences. I like being able to buy anything and everything to make my life easier. But, what are the effects of me making my life easier? What happens when I make these seemingly innocent decisions? What happens when I feel too lazy to make dinner and we go out to eat instead? What happens when I throw away those plastic bags because I don’t feel like driving them to Kroger to recycle them? What happens when I wear a shirt for only a couple hours but throw it in the dirty clothes anyways? What happens when I give into buying something I don’t need? Sometimes nothing. Sometimes the results are worth it. Sometimes. But, often we don’t consider the results, the effects of our actions.

 

On Research

Cause and effect- we study it in school. It is always applicable. Every decision we make has an effect, has consequences. But we, as a society, a culture, have decided to remove ourselves from these consequences. They are too messy, too disturbing. We wear rose-tinted glasses and shop till we drop with little concern for what businesses we are supporting and for what we are teaching others and ourselves. We ignore where the things we buy originated. We buy the newest version of X-Box or I-Phone because it is “faster” (by a few seconds…we need Facebook and Twitter to download instantaneously). We snap our fingers and our every desire is available (for a small price, of course). And, we are removed. We ignore what our shopaholic, consumerist, materialistic mindsets are producing.

Just because we don’t see an immediate effect doesn’t mean there isn’t one.

I am a woman. I am a consumer. I like shoes and purses and clothes and makeup. I like shopping. I like making my home beautiful. Those desires are not bad.

What my husband and I are trying to escape is not the act of buying or shopping. We are trying to escape the mindset that we have bought into as a culture. We are trying to teach ourselves to think and to question every decision we make. We are trying to research what we buy, to be conscious and aware of where a product was made and how. Are we contributing to something in which we believe strongly? Or are we contributing to sweat shops and poor wages, to mistreatment of animals, to rich men’s pocketbooks, to a broken system?

It’s a pain, yes. Imagine researching every product you buy? Imagine rethinking that purchase in the store…. But imagine the beautiful effect of a society that thinks more than it shops.

 

On Stewardship

Although being a conscientious consumer is quite a green movement, for us it is more than that. It stems from a deeper belief.

We believe God created us with purpose. He created this world and everything in it for us; He gave us control over everything beautiful He has made. Many Christians preach stewardship, I believe, with an understanding that God intended for us to care for and protect the earth in our rule. I firmly believe that God intended for us to be good stewards and to take care of this beautiful planet. I highly doubt that  He intended for us to exploit and trash this world. And, I’m going to be honest for a moment- I think the world needs more examples of Christian stewardship. We have many examples of the green movement, and often it is labeled as liberal, causing conservatives to ignore it. Or is is labeled as hippie or hipster, enabling many more to ignore it. But, “being green” isn’t simply for liberals and hipsters; I see many underlying aspects of Christian stewardship in the green movement. I think the world needs to see more Christians being green.

I don’t want to be ignorant or blind to what happens to this beautiful planet when we are wasteful. So many sit back as animals are abused in order to eat a cheaper steak, hamburger, or chicken sandwich (research Tyson and Perdue and cattle farms and you may never want to buy meat again). People are abused and paid poor wages in factories to make cheaper clothes for Target or Old Navy. Many sit back and console themselves with the idea that they can’t do anything about it. I, myself, have used many excuses. I have often heard one similar to this: “the cow’s already dead…might as well eat it,”  or “I can’t find cheaper tank tops anywhere else…and I “need” them.” Whatever the excuse, when we choose to ignore the origin of what we buy, we feed huge problems….mostly because that’s how we’ve always done it.

We are natural consumers in our society. But, we are also blind consumers. And companies pay a LOT of money to keep us blind and buying.

But, I want to be a good steward. I want to take care of what God has given me.  I want to be aware of what I do each day and what I buy. I want to know what I am supporting when I spend my money. I believe God has given me this mission and purpose. I also believe that I am learning and making mistakes while I try to follow this plan. It’s one of the most difficult lifestyle changes I have ever tried to make.

These are my thoughts. Take them as they are. Know we are at the beginning of a journey and our lives are changing daily (something I think is beautiful). Be ready, as we grown and learn, to see changes.

However, my challenge to you is this: don’t take everything you read here or anywhere else at face value. Know that I am human and trying my best to learn God’s will and purpose. Research. Read. Think.

 

A short clip about marketing- watch if you like; I promise it does relate. 🙂

 

 

Happy Researching!

-The Pickle Family

Food and Such

Recently Kevin and I have been searching for a home and some land. We would like to be able to fully pursue our vision. It seems, though, that when people who are not familiar with our journey hear news of our search, they become puzzled and immediately ask why. It strikes me as humorous sometimes, seeing as often the main objection is the distance, even though my dad commuted 40 minutes to work each day because he wanted his family to live in a certain area of the suburbs. No one questioned him about his 40 minute commute. But, a 35-40 minute commute in order to live in the country seems to make our friends wonder. On top of that, when I mention the word “farm,” most of my acquaintances’ (and even some friends’) eyebrows raise. I’m not always the best at articulating our reasoning and our journey over the last year in a five minute span. So, lately I have walked away from conversations frustrated, wishing I could better explain, better justify our plans. I would love to explain, but it’s a long story. And it started when Kevin and I were engaged in the spring of 2013.

Kevin has always had various stomach problems and heartburn. A good deal of what he ate seemed to cause him not to feel well, and his body often had poor reactions to food. My immediate solution was less eating unhealthy fast food and restaurant food; in other words, eat at home more. After all, home cooked food is better, right? So, I started cooking lunch at the apartment he rented about 3 months before we married, where I would live soon. We both worked about 5 minutes from the apartment, so we’d meet for lunch- I’d cook. I’d also try to cook dinner more often, and he ate breakfast at home.

These small changes seemed to help, but weren’t enough.

Our journey, as you will see soon, really began with food. I’ve always been interested in nutrition and healthy eating, but I haven’t always followed what I knew to be correct. I knew fast food was terrible for you, and I knew vegetables, fruits, lean meats, nuts, etc… were good. It seemed pretty simple in my mind. How little I really knew then. Our journey of eating indeednwas frustrating. Because, as I researched, I realized that what I knew wasn’t completely accurate.

A quick example- a simple meal of roasted chicken and potatoes with asparagus and a spinach salad. Sounds healthy right? Well, it’s definitely a better alternative to Taco Bell, but, it isn’t without its faults. Faults of which, until that point, I was unaware. First, the chicken-from where did it come? Did I know anything about that chicken? Was it healthy? Was it abused? Did it have a disease or sickness? Was it going to become number 50006069 in the latest salmonella outbreak? I didn’t have a clue…because I didn’t know about what I was eating. And that was when it hit me. I knew nothing about the food I’m eating. I didn’t have a clue as to whether or not that chicken was hurting or helping me. Of course, i was most likely better than fast food (most likely), and was better than starving. But, this was the point when I really felt the issues hit home- I felt separated from the process to an extreme measure. I didn’t know from where any of my meat comes….I didn’t know from where any of my veggies come. What was really in that potato salad at Kroger? What kinds of chemicals were used in my food? What was that random ingredient on the back of my seemingly simple can of soup? WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS I EATING? (Excuse the all caps- I usually hate that, but it seemed appropriate).

In other words: our journey began not with knowledge but with ignorance. We realized together that we were completely ignorant and removed from what we ate.

So, we researched. We learned. And, we were shocked. Let’s just say, once you start down the road of really researching what you are putting in your body, you will put down your diet soda (I did) and your processed hamburger, because you just can’t look at it the same way anymore.

We live in a consumerist, business world. The people who process our food are not concerned about our health; they are concerned with their business. Just because it is on the shelf in the grocery store, doesn’t mean you or your kids should eat it! That was a tough lesson for me to learn. It still is. It is not easy to change a lifestyle of eating, and it is even more difficult when it is not the norm.

Here is where I tell you to do your research. Don’t believe me? Cool- that shows you’re smart. This is a blog. I could tell you the sky is purple, publish this on the internet, and if you believed me, you’d be thick as molasses. Research- figure out what you are eating for your own sake and for your kids’ sake.

I learned. I saw and researched the conditions of the factories that were processing my meat. No thank you. I saw the chemicals used on my veggies. Nope. And, I learned what some of those ingredients meant.

So, we switched to organic. Easy transition. Many are doing this- it’s the new trend. So, I bought everything organic. I bought cage-free eggs and chicken. I felt pretty good about our new way of eating. And, I had a right to. We were doing better. Until one fateful day I learned that cage-free didn’t mean what I believed it did. I was livid. I had been paying almost 5 dollars a dozen for cage free eggs assuming that was pasture raised….nope, not the same thing. And, thus began a new bout of research. What did all these fancy terms mean on those beautiful green labels in the new expensive grocery store?

Oooooh, that’s right. We live in a consumerist, business world. And, business men have seen the new organic market is growing- they’d be fools not to get in on it. Now, how can we make the most money with the catchiest phrases for the least amount of money on our end? I know, let’s call things “cage free,” “all natural,” “traditional,” “pure.” Those aren’t regulated. Let’s trick the average consumer. Now, I don’t think every man in those corporations really sets out to “trick” the average consumer; but, they do set out to make their companies money….and that is how it works. Which, means we have to be more intelligent consumers. And, overall, we aren’t. We buy into the gimmicks. We truly believe that other people in the corporate world want what’s best for the average consumer. If it’s on the shelf, it’s not going to kill me right? Please.

Anyways, I was frustrated- I can’t even trust the organic labels and natural foods??? What do we eat?

So, we found a company called Grasshoppers-local food (and now Green Bean after Grasshoppers closed). Ah, local food (let’s hope corporations don’t get wind of this). So, now we buy local whenever possible from farms we recognize and see down the road. Foxhollow Farm, Ashburne Farms (all close to Louisville). We receive pasture raised chicken and eggs. We buy grass fed beef. We spend more money than I had ever planned on food. We made that decision. And, we believe it is a good one. Why do we spend so little on food in our country anyways? A dollar for a burger? Are you serious? And you expect that to be good beef? How could it be?

 

That is where we are today in our journey of eating. It is not cheap. We eat less meat, because we can’t afford it as often. We eat out less, and when we eat out, we are pretty limited. Of course, we still eat out with family and friends, but it is tougher on us (on our minds as we attempt to avoid more meat and on our stomachs, which aren’t always accustomed to the food). Thankfully, there are more restaurants now  that are committed to better food, so we have a few more options for when we do eat out with friends and family. But, overall, it’s pretty easy to see why we want to raise our own food, I think. Why not have a garden  and orchard? Why not have chickens and a dairy cow? It’s not impossible. It was food that really led us to our new adventure of self sustainability. Our desire to be conscious and careful consumers- not blind and materialistic has led us to this new search for land.

And, of course, the biggest reason of all is our future children. Eating good food shouldn’t be this difficult. Eating REAL food shouldn’t be this difficult…or this costly. And, it doesn’t have to be. I mentioned in my first blog why people choose to live more sufficiently. Our biggest reason is for our future children and their future. I want my kids to eat real food and to understand the process of how it got to the table. I want them to know real honest work and respect for the land and for animals. I want them to respect life and the beautiful and delicate cycle that we seem to take advantage of every day. I want what every parent claims- more- for my kids. And, for me and my husband, “more” comes with a price.

 

So, for those wondering about the journey- this is one of the major ones- our journey of eating. The self sufficiency mindset really stemmed from here. Our plans may seem crazy at first, but I assure you, they are necessary and purposeful.

 

Happy Eating!

The Pickle Family