Ethical living – your questions answered
Blogger Kate Hall lives and breathes ethical living.
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked this question, I could buy myself an entire bulk bin store. Living with people who do not share the exact same values as you, is difficult. I have two flatmates and a husband. Trust me, I know.
Firstly, focus on what you can control. If your partner is not on board with changing your grocery shopping habits or waste systems, focus on your own green beauty routine, plastic-free snacks for work/school, and ethical wardrobe. Your eco journey is your own, and so is theirs.
This doesn’t mean you should give up on teaching them. Start with one change, and grow from there. Even if this means changing your plastic bin liners to paper liners over the space of six months. Change takes time, and it’s important not to force these things, otherwise your partner may ignore eco living altogether.
You’ll have the most impact by leading by example. Change comes from having an enthusiastic and positive attitude. People will be drawn to your positivity, and begin to inquire and follow. The trick is to do the best you can with what you have. You may not leave the checkout completely plastic-free, but there are ways to dramatically reduce your plastic.
You can buy items in glass or tin. Opt for a can of tomato sauce to refill a squeezy bottle, and buy a glass jar of mayonnaise instead of the plastic one. Bring reusable bulk bin bags to the supermarket, your own containers to be filled at the deli, and your own reusable vegetable bags for produce.
Another thing you can do is shop in bulk. Avoid the little bags in one large bag of chips – buy a big one instead.
It goes without saying you’ll also have your reusable shopping bags to carry your nearly-plastic-free-shopping home. Again, it’s important to remember to do the best you can with what you have. An ethical meat eater will eat meat less often, eat meat that is traced back to a sustainable and ethical source, and buy meat in reduced plastic. For me, this is visiting my local butcher with my own containers. I avoid buying pork and chicken there, as I know it’s not free-farmed, and I continue talking to the butcher about making this change. If they know the consumer wants it, it’s more likely they’ll offer it in the future.
I visit the butcher just once or twice a month. I store meat in my freezer, and divide it into separate containers before I freeze it, so I’m only ever defrosting the small amount I need for a meal for two. At dinner time, meat is rarely the main ingredient in our meal; that means it’s easy to leave it out in our meat-less meals and not notice.
Consuming less meat is not only great for the planet, but easier on the bank account. The greater price you pay for high quality butcher’s meat, is balanced out with your meat intake reduction.
An alternative, if you have the option, is to find a source of ‘‘home kill’’. If you have friends or family with farmland, ask if there would be space for you to house an animal or two on their property. This way, you know the animal lived a happy life, and you can ensure the animal’s life ends humanely.
Do you have a question for Kate? Email it in to homed@stuff.co.nz.