There was one day in class when someone mentioned an episode of the TV show Portlandia (a parody of Portland, Oregon) where a couple in a restaurant is so concerned about where the chicken on the menu came from that they drive to a farm 30 miles south of the city to see exactly where the chicken, Colin, grew up. They want to see Colin’s papers, photos, sibling, caretakers. favorite hangouts, etc. The humor, of course, is in the ridiculous level of energy it takes the couple trace the commodity chain and examine how humane production practices are. But the best humor is rooted in familiar truths, and this one was particularly familiar to my class. It’s difficult to try to critique or uncover certain practices without becoming Portlandia-style strange and incessantly inquisitive. But we did agree that it’s better to keep asking questions than to become one of those people (and I know plenty of them) who cover their ears when they start hearing about factory farming or animal cruelty, because they “love the way it tastes and don’t want to ruin it!” It’s just not that simply of a choice anymore…
The block ended with a take-home exam and a paper to analyze a corporation’s sustainability endeavors. I compared Wal-Mart and the supposed anti-Wal-Mart, Costco. Costco does tend to have better labor practices than Wal-Mart in terms of labor practices overseas and at home, though their profit margins are smaller than Wal-Mart’s (1.7 cents to the dollar compared to 3.5 cents). The paper ended up being less about actual sustainability practices, though, and more about how corporations influence each other.
When environmental activists weren’t so successful targeting Congress or the World Trade Organization, they turned to the place where they saw an open door: corporations and consumers. Targeting corporations at their pressure points–shaming their public images/branding/framing–proved very successful. When Wal-Mart made public efforts to become more sustainable, so did its corporate counterparts. This phenomenon is termed institutional isomorphism, and it happens whenever institutions, unsure of what to do, look at places similar to themselves and basically copy whatever action their isomorphs are taking. It happens with businesses, colleges, and of course, corporations. The question now is how much sustainability is actually a priority for a place like Wal-Mart verus a PR move. Regardless of how much actual content there is, it’s still encouraging to me that major corporations are realizing that sustainability is good for their bottom line. Now if we could just get some more regulatory oversight, we’d be right on track…
The point of all this is to say that, now that the block is over, I feel much more informed as a consumer and a citizen and I think I know where to go to get more information. It doesn’t mean that I need to see a scrapbook or life history for every item of food I eat or product I purchase, but it does mean that I’m a lot more cognizant of the existence of commodity chains and the extent to which my efforts can make a difference (or encourage a systematic difference). Cheers to a great class. I learned a lot. Now on to second semester seniordom and THESIS…
