Confessions of a Hypocrite: Utopia in the Age of Ecocide

by Shaun Chamberlin | Nov 30, 2016 | All Posts, Articles

Originally published in the Fall/Winter 2016 edition of the Kosmos journal

I confess — I love Magnum ice creams!

Yet surely as a good, responsible eco-citizen, I must be aware that these relatively cheap, beautifully packaged nuggets of deliciousness are inescapably products of the industrial system that is destroying all that I hold dear?

That Magnums are produced by Unilever, not only the world's biggest ice cream manufacturer but the world's third largest multinational consumer goods company, associated with deforestation for palm oil, exploitation of workers, the promotion of unsustainable agriculture, factory farming, the use of tax havens, lobbying against GM labelling and so on...

I don't mean to imply that they're the worst offenders. It's just that I happen to particularly enjoy their product (despite being aware that there's no actual cream in it). For me, it's what Unilever's marketing team would doubtless term a 'wicked indulgence.'

So I should stop eating them, right? I should overcome my baser urges and live a lifestyle that accords with my values and beliefs?

Well, there is certainly an argument for that, and I know many friends who struggle and expend huge energy and willpower on resisting their deep desire for Magnums, or bacon, or jet flights or whatever... And even feel resentment towards those who don't do the same.

Occasionally, of course, they give in and then feel huge guilt, and maybe greater ill will towards those who seem to consume without even feeling this inner conflict.

With this approach, it is little wonder that we environmentalists are often characterised as tedious killjoys who wouldn't know how to enjoy ourselves in a vegan chocolate factory. Perhaps it is even fair. After all, there is nothing inspiring about the struggles of a divided and conflicted self. And there is nothing less inspiring than 'shoulds.' With the possible exception of 'should nots'...