To Lead or Be Led? 9Consumerism helps explain this attitude; it is the product of an
artificial environment that we invented. The result has diminished our
will to ask ourselves what is happening, or knowledgeably question
and challenge those in authority. As the trend continues, we lose the
ability to distinguish between what feels good and what is true. In the
consumerist food world, abundance rules. Scarcity is an artifact of the
past. And what were once conveniences have become nonnegotiable
necessities.
This way of living tricks us into thinking that food will always be
abundant. Everyone can have as much food as they like—so long as
they bring money. The drawdown of finite resources is inconsequential.
Government subsidies are free. Technology can overcome any obstacle.
Markets are omniscient.
We got to this point by always wanting more and never question-
ing where more was leading us. A mindless drive for efficiency became
the endgame where bigger was always better because food was being
produced more efficiently. When efficiency became the goal, little else
mattered. Extracting more resources took priority. Chemicals and anti-
microbials were necessary to temporarily subdue nature. People were
replaced by technology; those who remained were reduced to menial
labor. Science, subsidies, and markets were methodically aligned to
reward self-interest.
So how do we foster a different reality? It begins with greater aware-
ness, followed by appreciation, and then increased understanding. The
Earthrise photo gave humanity renewed perspective, reminding all
of us that we and everything surrounding us are packed together on a
lone planet hurtling through space at nearly 67,000 miles per hour, while
spinning at some ,000 miles per hour. A circling Moon stabilizes the
Earth’s axis, tempering extreme weather and making life habitable. The
food that results is only possible because of Earth and its planetary orbit
relative to the Sun. Five percent nearer or percent farther away, and
life and food as we know it could no longer exist. How marvelous and
out of this world is that!
Our planet’s trajectory also serves up different climates and seasons,
the perfect backdrop to witness its harmonious interplay with the