According to the Cambridge English Dictionary consumption can be defined as ‘the amount used or eaten’ and the example provided is, ‘as a nation, our consumption of junk food is horrifying’. However, consumption is not only about the amount of food we’ve consumed, it is the action of using products for their entire lifetime and the way in which one eventually disposes of that product.
We are supplied with an overload of goods that we don't always require but have a desire for. An exaggerated amount of manufactured goods are placed in front of us, the production of which is using up the earth’s limited natural resources such as light, air, water and fossil fuels.
To give you some background information, 1.3 billion tons of food produced for human consumption are lost and wasted each year. Simultaneously, extensive swathes of valuable forest are cleared to make room for farming to produce yet more unnecessary food.
According to English anthropologist Dr. Jane Goodall, ‘Each and every one of us must do our part in creating a better world, for though the small choices we make each day – what we buy, what we eat, what we wear – may seem insignificant, the cumulative effect of billions of people making ethical choices, will start to heal the natural world’. We should all strive to ‘respect nature and the interconnectedness of everything that matters for humanity’ as David Nabarro put it.
At the International School of Toulouse, we should take a closer look at the things that surround us. Your desk. Your classroom. Your locker. Even at home, take a look at what you have gathered over the years. The majority is unsustainable – not only the clothes - but anything made of plastic. We need to recycle and dispose of those many unwanted items responsibly, knowing where they will go and what they will be transformed into.
8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced in the last 70 years and half of it in the last 13 years. However, by taking a few simple and tangible steps, such as deciding how much you want to consume, dedicating time to organizing your home and recycling the things you no longer need, you can be the one to make a difference.
You need to be committed and organized in order to improve your lifestyle and help raise awareness for the climate cause.
Take a look at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-waste-pollution-trash-crisis/ for more information on the human dependence on plastic and how we're now drowning in it...