Footprints and Appetite

Sometimes I'm lucky enough to hear 'Conversations' with Richard Fidler on the ABC. Remember him from the Doug Anthony Allstars? Well, he's now a grown up journalist who gets to interview interesting people. One such interesting person was writer, Daniel Akst, who's written a book entitled, We Have Met the Enemy. I heard part of the interview and knew I had to download the podcast to hear the rest.

Rather than rehash the book, here is a link to Daniel Akst's website and what he's written about the book; far better in his words than mine.  We Have Met the Enemy. If you like what you read, you might want to go to the podcast at http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2012/07/12/3544436.htm

So, how is lack of self control relevant to Footprints? In some cases, highly relevant and in other cases, not at all. The areas that Daniel Akst cites in his article about the book (above link) are food, alcohol, drugs, gambling, procrastination and sex, particularly in relation to extramarital relations.

Food: many of you have read my supermarket shopping adventures and know that I try to buy only ethical and eco-friendly brands. That won't make any difference to lack of self-control when it comes to eating it. However, a whole swag of overeating type foods just don't make it into the trolley in the first place. That sets up a safety mechanism against overeating. As you've also read in the past very few fast outlets are an option either. It is possible to overeat on Footprints but it's harder.

Alcohol: alcohol is increasingly concentrated in the hands of multi-national companies that have bad track records. There are very few brands of beer or spirits that I'm comfortable buying. Husband loves his wine and does the wine buying through a club. I don't think he has any idea of who actually owns the wineries he's getting wine from. That's a concern to me, particularly when we live in a region replete with wineries. I suppose if the wine were from a local owned winery the Footprints deterrent on uncontrolled drinking might be the environmental damage done from the production. To drink less would be to buy less which would have an impact on the supply/demand chain.

I don't really think that being on Footprints would have much of an impact on drugs, gambling, procrastination or extramarital sex. However, if I procrastinate I'm less likely to get my blog written ...

There is also a certain lack of self-control attached to conspicuous consumerism. To me, that has a strong link to Footprints. It is very difficult for us to buy for the sake of it. Before we buy, we need to research whether or not we can get it second-hand and, if not, what brands are the lesser of the evils. When faced with neither option we need to decide if we really need the item and if not, how it can be substituted. If we still need to buy the item after all that we have to research which brand will last the longest so the need to replace it is less frequent.

It sounds very constraining but I find a freedom in it. I like what we're doing and find it fun and liberating.

Cheers.