We live in the wild, not the zoo. The systems around us are built for what we buy, what we click and what can be mass produced. Our wellbeing is a side effect, sometimes positive, sometimes negative. Once we accept that no one is looking out for us, we start taking accountability for our own wellbeing and outcomes.
When you stop expecting others to look after you, the steering wheel is yours to take.
Start with the lotion. I threw mine out after reading the label. Parabens are known endocrine disruptors. “Parfum” is legal cover for whatever fragrance compound the manufacturer wants. Those often include endocrine disruptors too.
The lotion was designed to sell. Cheap to produce, smells nice. The incentive is the purchase. The consequences arrive later.
Same shows up in food. Cheap, low-quality calories designed to sell. Fried food. Packaged snacks. People who pay attention eat less of it or enjoy it occasionally. Brand works as a check when customers can see the damage. Slow or hidden damage flies under brand’s radar.
I was recently watching an episode of The Best Ever Food Review Show set in a seafood restaurant in New York City. A worker pulled the seafood out of the steamer. It had been steaming in a plastic basket. Plastic leaches. Everyone eats it.
It doesn’t have to be malicious. Sometimes producers don’t know. Sometimes they don’t care.
The producer’s incentive often ends at checkout. The customer lives with the consequences.
Awareness is upstream of everything.
- Read labels.
- Trace incentives.
- What wins in a market isn’t always in your interest. Long-term damage is harder to trace, so markets underprice it. Even short-term harm slips through when it’s invisible. Attention and money decide the winner.
In the zoo, you assume the glass holds. Someone’s checking temperatures. Someone’s looking out. In the wild, you don’t assume that. Anything that can happen, can. A lot of us live feeling like we’re in the zoo, lulled into a sense of safety. The world is indifferent. Sometimes we get a cold reminder.
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What sense of safety have you been lulled into?
