Our own expectations hinder conscious consumption.
The pursuit of instant gratification and keeping up with trends undermines sustainable decisions.
The pressure to meet social norms prevents conscious decisions that are aligned with values and sustainability.
Embracing Frugality: Cultivating Mindfulness for a Sustainable Future
We must recognize and accept the limitations of resources and understand that immediate availability is not always possible.
In a world with limited resources, it is important to cultivate patience, mindfulness and sustainable practices.
By adopting a mentality of frugality and practicing delaying gratification, we can build a balanced and harmonious relationship with our environment, ensuring long-term well-being for ourselves and future generations.
Wasteful consequences
Because of these expectations, companies are sometimes forced to overproduce and throw away.
For example, many consumers expect that they can get all types of bread by evening and that the bread is fresh every day.
That's why 80,000 tons of bread end up in the garbage in Germany every year.
Most consumers also avoid crooked vegetables, fruit with small bruises and goods with crushed or torn packaging.
Overall, half of all food is thrown away by consumers, markets or producers.
Waste of resources and energy through overproduction of food
This creates an alarming cycle:
On the one hand, valuable resources such as fertile soil and water are used to grow grains, fruits and vegetables that no one eats.
At the same time, a lot of energy is used to destroy overproduction.
consequence
If we as consumers change our expectations and behavior, we can have a positive impact on the economic transition towards a more sustainable system.
