The Green Economy and the Green Movement
The green economy and the green movement are closely linked. The development of goals or the development of an economy that contributes to lowering environmental hazards is what is referred to as the "green economy." There is a movement known as the "green economy" whose primary objective is to ensure environmental preservation and organic farming. The movement functions to highlight the worries of environmentalists. This essay will address the effects of the green movement's various facets. The effects' potential benefits or harms to the public or the ecosystem will be examined. There will be consideration of the various campaigns of the green movement in the analysis of the impacts.
The Conservation Efforts of the Green Movement
The green movement, which is mostly strong in the United States, aims at ensuring there is maximum conservation of the environment. The movement has come up with ways that assist in the reduction of degradation of the environment. The movement encourages the people to live green and act in an environmentally friendly way. There are positive effects of going green that people are not aware of, and therefore it is the task of the green movement to educate them concerning the positive impacts.
Eating in an Environmentally Conscious Way
The green movement campaign involves encouraging the public to eat in an environmentally conscious way. This involves supporting food production ways that are environmentally friendly. For instance, the cattle industry is one of the farming sectors viewed to be environmentally unfriendly. When talking of greenhouse gases which are said to be contributors to global warming, there is mention of methane gas. A cow is said to produce methane gas from its waste produce or fart (Gavelj n.p). Now the growth of the cattle industry means the accumulation of many cows in one area causing excess production of the methane gas. This gas is known to trap a lot of heat in its molecules which result in high atmospheric heat that results in global warming. Apart from methane gas, there is a need for more grazing land for the expansion of the cattle industry. Land needs to be cleared, degradation of the land and practice of deforestation (Gavelj n.p). By clearing forests, this means the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increased. Carbon dioxide is another gas that is a cause of global warming. Trees take in carbon dioxide and in return produce oxygen which is good for the climate and hence the environment. By deforestation, there is a reduction in the number of trees and hence the quantity of carbon dioxide. The encouragement of beef production and less production of green products leads to monoculture (Gavelj n.p). The practice of monoculture has been said to lead to draining of the earth’s nutrients. This, in turn, encourages the production of petrochemical fertilizers that are a hazard to the environment. Eating in an environmentally conscious way means being considerate of the environment when choosing what to eat. By choosing to regularly consume beef, which is the produce of the cow, means promoting the beef production industry which is linked to the cattle production industry. The green movement encourages people to be aware of the food production industries that affect the environment in their production and avoid promotion of their products.
The Industrialized Food vs. Environmental Health
There is an existing tension between the industrialized food and the environmental health. The production of industrialized food means less natural farming, which in one way or another affects the environment and human health. The production of genetically engineered foods consists of the utilization of a lot of chemicals. The used chemicals pose a threat to the health of the environment and that of the people. Organic farming helps protect the environment, the welfare of the animals, and human health. A research done in Australia shows that organic farming and consumers were motivated by the mentioned factors. The factors assisted the consumers in environmentally friendly food choices, which are the main aim of the green movement (Lockies & Stewart 33). One might argue that the production of industrialized foods may help in economic gain and reduction of hunger in non-fertile areas. Since some areas are incapable of practicing farming naturally, the use of genetic engineering in food production may be viewed as a solution to the problem. The campaign of the green movement against the stopping of this non-organic farming can be taken as harm to the citizens or people in these places. There is also the issue of high price tags on the organic foods in comparison to the non-organic. Citizens might view this as a harm to their economic well-being.
The Importance of Transparency in Green Marketing
Most of the companies claim to be "green" but in the real sense, they are not. People have been fooled to believe that production of green products and those that are environmentally friendly qualifies as being "green." The companies might produce environmentally friendly products, but what matters is whether the processes and the practices involved in that company are environmentally friendly. They may consume a lot of energy and dump waste products which lead to degradation of the environment ("Green Marketing | What is Green Marketing" n.p). The green movement claims that there should be transparency in all the companies. This means that the companies should be truthful about the methods they use to produce their products and the effects of their products on the environment as well as human health. This will, in turn, assist the consumers in choosing the products that are not a hazard to the environment and their health.
The Impact of the Green Movement
On consideration of the mentioned above issues, one can be able to assess the impact of the green movement on the citizens. The green movement is concerned with the encouragement of organic foods. The consumption of organic foods has been related to improved human health. This alone qualifies to show that the aspects of the green movement act as an aid towards the citizens rather than harm. There is also the issue of cattle industry reduction, whereby the movement is against the promotion of cattle farming. With cattle farming, there has been mentioned of large amounts of water consumption, use of large lands for grazing, and monoculture. The three mentioned results of cattle farming result in harming the human beings who in this case are the citizens. The issue of transparency of the company clearly shows that the campaign of the green movement impacts positively on the citizens and the environment. The campaign of the green movement has also been seen to be harm to the citizens or the people. There has been the talk of economic effects on the people in relation to the organic and non-organic foods. This is one of the seen negative impacts of green movement campaign to the people.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is correct to say that green movement campaigns are more of a help to the environment and the people than harm. The positive impacts outweigh the negative impacts according to my analysis. Therefore, my conclusion is that the aspect of the green movement is importantly assisting the citizens and their environment.
Works cited
Lockie, Stewart, et al. "Eating ‘green’: motivations behind organic food consumption in Australia." Sociologia ruralis 42.1 (2002): 23-40.
"Green Marketing | What is Green Marketing?" Marketing Schools | All Things Marketing at Marketing-Schools.org, www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/green-marketing.html.
Gavelj. "Eating in an Environmentally Conscious Way." The Enviro Lifestyle, 8 Jan. 2015, theenvirolifestyle.wordpress.com/2015/01/08/eating-in-an-environmentally-conscious-way/.
