Mindful Consumption

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I vow to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society, by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I vow to ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society.

-The Fifth Precept (excerpt)
from “The Blooming of a Lotus”
by Thich Naht Hanh

Ours is a culture of wide-screen televisions, fast-food restaurants, big box stores, SUVs, shopping malls, and enormous houses, all fueled by the non-stop assault of advertising. The message from business and government is buy! buy! buy! More! more! more! Cars, houses, and our appetites grow larger by the year, while we lose all sense of the true cost and consequences of our unsustainable level of consumption. How much is enough? When is it too much? The practice of mindful consumption can help restore awareness and balance between needs and wants, and provide an escape from our unhealthy culture of consumerism.

I try to practice mindful consumption by being intentional about the things I eat, drink, and buy, and maintaining an awareness of their origins and path to my door. For example, where were my new shoes made? Were they produced by sweatshop labor? Were they produced using sustainable materials? Did their production create unnecessary pollution? Does my purchase of these shoes preserve “peace, well-being, and joy…in the collective body and consciousness of…society?” I can ask these questions about anything I consume.

Unfortunately, our advertising-driven consumer culture encourages impulse purchasing and brand loyalty rather than responsible consumption. It can be very difficult to discern the origins of the clothes I wear, the food I eat, and the toys my children play with. I may be able to see from the label that something is “Made in China,” but how do I know about the working conditions in the factory? How do I even begin to find out? Mindful consumption of consumer goods can be very challenging.

Some ways to practice mindful consumption is to do without, use what I have more efficiently, or purchase goods that I know are made locally and/or sustainably. I can ask myself if I really need a new pair of shoes. Perhaps I can take my old ones to the local cobbler and have them resoled. Do I really need to drive my car to work every day? Maybe I can carpool with a coworker, take public transportation, or ride my bike two or three times a week.

Mindful consumption of food is a bit easier, and it can begin with joining a local organic cooperative or shopping at a local farmers’ market. It is also possible to find organic and natural foods in most grocery stores, but they might have been transported long distances (which consumes oil and causes pollution) rather than being locally produced. When buying meat, chicken or fish, I can insist on free-range, humanely raised animals free of antibiotics and hormones. I can refuse to support factory farming and its cruelty and pollution.

Mindful consumption is a concept whose timeliness cannot be overstated. Our economy, society, and our very way of life are based on a capitalist model of every-increasing consumption that is unsustainable even if it were capped at its present level. Americans comprise 5% of the world’s population, yet consume about a quarter of its resources. Something is going to give - the situation will become critical within the next 50 years, if not sooner. My grandchildren will live in a completely different world – either one in which the human race has wisely chosen a new path toward sustainability and long-term health of the planet, or one in which famine, scarcity, and environmental disaster are commonplace. By practicing mindful consumption today, we can leave the legacy of a brighter tomorrow for our children.