Urban downward mobility

One of my favorite publications is Geez Magazine. It is a great swamp of thought from those who don't fit into a "normal" church setting and yet are still drawn to this crazy religion we call Christianity. One topic that frequently comes up is that of downward mobility. Many of the contributors are Mennonites, a group which is especially good at simple living. So there are many practical suggestions on how to go about simplifying your life in order to share more of the world's resources with others.

Now Geez and the Mennonites are inspiring (see the More-with-Less cookbook by Doris Janzen Longacre for an introductory manifesto) but they also advocate moving away from the city and getting back to the land. There is nothing wrong with getting back to the land, but it is not for everyone. Moreover, I find that the city is an ideal place for some good old-fashioned gospel-inspired helping out the poor. There are poor people in the country too; it's just that poverty looks different in the two places. So how can we practice downward mobility in the city?

Vegetarianism is one idea. So is buying second-hand or going on buy nothing sprees. Eating as locally as possible is another idea, although it can get expensive if you are not careful. Giving up your car for transit or bicycle is something you can do if you are lucky enough to own a car. Sacrificing unnecessary square footage and trimming your power bills are more options. I would love to hear more; if you have any ideas please share!

Hankies

How come you can't find hankies anywhere anymore? Some of us don't want to be pitching thousands of kleenexes when we can just throw something into the laundry. There was a time when hankies were enviro-fashionable, just like those reusable shopping bags today. Which, of course, are much different than any other bag you have lying around.

The Global Village or the Global City or whatever it is these days

So the big news from environmentalism is to eat local. I support that, at least in theory. Here are some imported products that I don't know how to survive without:

1. Tea.
2. Coffee.
3. Sugar. Just try preserving all those local fruits without it.
4. Chocolate.
5. Bananas.
6. Cashews. Nuts save my life, I am sure of it. It is hard to find a good, healthy gluten-free snack without nuts, and I can't eat almonds all the time.
7. Canned tuna (product of Thailand). Canned tuna makes up a third of the trifecta of student protein sources: the other two are eggs and peanut butter.
8. Rice. The fact that Canada has the world's best wheat doesn't help me any when I am allergic to wheat.
9. Olive oil.
10. Spices. I love Indian food so most of my spices are, not surprisingly, from India.
11. Legumes. Legumes are very Diet For a Small Planet, but I'm pretty sure they have to travel a long way. I've never heard of the great lentil farms of the Okanagan. However, it is still more effecient to eat imported pulses than to feed those same pulses to local cows and then eat the cows.