Just one more

Sorry, I said I was gonna stay away from here but I kind of felt the need of sharing. I have just watched 2 Swedish documentaries, one about meat production on our planet, and the other one about Swedish youths being used and abused at their workplace. It would probably be easier for me to write this in Swedish but I will give it a go anyway.

Now a bit more seriously, we are consuming more and more meat, there are more and more people on this planet eating meat. At the cost of our planet. I have never really found a good reason for going vegetarian but I am starting to consider it now. Not full time but maybe 1-2 times a week, maybe even 3. And I also eat a lot of moose and wild boar which does not have anyway near the same effect on the planet as large scale, almost industrial, meat production.

The little country of Benin in Africa have started importing cheap and nasty chicken from France which costs half or less than that compared to the local chicken and hence the local chicken farmers have to do something else for a living and this is stopping the development of their own economy. In Brazil they chop down the rain forest to make room for more beef cattle, and when they cattle have eaten (read ruined) the land and it is of no more use and to expensive to "repair" it they just chop down a few more trees and so on. One farmer was angry that he couldnt chop down all his forest to make room for more cattle and expand his business and make more money. Probably more than he needed, he didnt look neither poor nor starving.

The research in this area is all about making cattle farms more efficient, and reducing the pollution. Like developing a new "food" type for the cattle to reduce their methane gas production, in order to be able to expand the meat production while keeping the pollution and carbon footprint on the same level. That is hardly the root cause to the problem. If everyone in Belgium had one meat free day a week it would have the same effect on global warming as if they removed 1 million cars for a year!!! Imagine that!!! Imagine then if everyone decided to have 1 meat free day a week, the effect of that would be incredible!

What has this got to do with the Swedish youths then I am sure you wonder. Well, places like McDonalds and cheap supermarkets are using them, they dont get paid for all hours they work, they are expected to come in and work at anytime when needed. They are expected to work faster and more efficient and are pushed so hard. It is not accepted to be home sick, one girl got a warning and was then fired, after almost hitting the wall. Every 5th person between 20 and 25 are having similar problems to "exhaustion" or hitting the wall, feeling like shit. The retired people of today feel better than the youth, when has that ever happened! Aren't your young years supposed to be the best years of your life? Not that there is anything wrong with feeling well at retirement at all! I think that is great! But that young people in Sweden today are not feeling well is not a good sign.

So, to the conclusion, it seems that all today is about is increasing production for the one person or the big company to make more and more money, it doesnt matter what it does to anyone else or to the environment, as long as I can make more money and get more power and what I want, when I want it. And spending spending spending, the latest phone, computer, internet, clothes, movies, sex and the city lifestyle, expensive houses that I cant afford if the interest rates goes up, borrowing money to spend more money, sms loans, efficiency. The wheel just spins faster and faster and where is it going to end? A bit scary if you ask me. No one seems to be interested in just making a living, no more no less, just making ends meet and maybe a little bit more, to be on the safe side. No, we should all have everything and more. Everyone wants to be rich and famous. Ok I might be generalising a bit but you get the picture. The lifestyle of today, probably most for young people, is not a healthy lifestyle, for anyone.

I heard a show on the radio the other day about a guy who had lived without electricity for 12 year! Just as incredible as the meat free day effect in Belgium. And this guy had a wife and kids. I just think we need more people like that. And need to make people aware of what we actually are doing to our planet.

Now you might want to ask me what I do, what is my contribution? Well, not enough when I think about it. I try to buy organic food as far as possible if it is not ridiculously expensive. I will definitely try harder for the meat free day a week. On top of the wild boar and moose I already eat probably once a week. I will start growing my own vegetables as soon as I have a garden.

I am also playing with the thought of being self sufficient as far as possible. Imagine eating your own potatoes, vegetables, and roast lamb for a Sunday dinner. All from your own place. At the moment it is a utopia but who knows. And I definitely think there is a future in this kind of living.

But I still have a long way to go, maybe not as far as a lot of other people but still a long way. As Ingvar would say, things remain to be done, a glorious future. (Ingvar = founder of IKEA and a genious business man)

Now when I have got this off my heart it is time to go to bed!