Silent Activism

By Erin Hartmans

Never underestimate the old saying “actions speak louder than words”. When it comes to tackling social justice issues, this form of “silent activism” can be an immensely effective and powerful way of bringing about wide-spread change. The little choices we make everyday (often when we spend our hard earned dollars) have the power to change the world. Think of what you “say” with the following actions…

• When you buy chocolate that isn’t fair trade, you support child labour.
• When you consume meat that wasn’t sustainably and ethically produced, you agree that factory farming is okay.
• If you buy most of your food from countries far far away, you support the mentality that “eating local doesn’t matter”.
• Every time you buy food that isn’t organic, you endorse the use, over-use and mal-use, of pesticides on our crops.
• When you buy paper made of trees that weren’t sustainably harvested, you agree that it is okay to chop down old growth forest.
• And every time you buy food that is overly packaged you agree to fill up our landfills with unnecessary garbage.

Often what we “say” with our actions does not reflect our moral beliefs at all. Unfortunately, in making those simple choices we empower the companies and corporations by feeding them them our money and giving them no reason to change their toxic business practices.
Some people may argue that making the choice to “buy better” is too costly and time consuming. But what price are we willing to pay…

• To improve the lives of the hundreds of thousands of child slaves working on cocoa plantations.
• To have a safe water supply that isn’t contaminated with pesticides or animal runoff.
• To ensure that local farmers can continue to provide quality food to our community.
• To keep old growth forests alive to be enjoyed for generations to come.
• To not have to show your grandchildren pictures of what nature “used to look like”.

These are questions we need to consider each time we try to save those few extra pennies at the grocery store. A healthier world is worth the extra effort and dollars.

Think before you buy: about where your food came from, how it was produced, and what impact it might have had on people and the environment.

We owe it to ourselves, to our ancestors, to future generations, and to the earth that made and feeds us, to express the immense power of our actions by making choices that benefit not just our wallets, but the whole world.

Erin Hartmans is a student activist from Guelph, Ontario.

Originally posted on the Reach Lesotho Blog, a program of I Have Hope.