Being an Ethical Consumer is a Pain: Plus, Who NOT to Fly To London...

Back in 2010 I discovered that my favourite snack, Barbecue Shapes, contained Palm Oil. Oh, I only ate them in moderation, just once in a blue moon, because you can't live off junk food, but shapes are one of those iconic chips on the supermarket shelves that all Australians love. Chuck a box in when you go camping and you're made. I was absolutely devastated to find out that they had palm oil in them and didn't eat anything from Arnotts for years after that. Today I did my research and found out that Arnotts is now leading the way in using CSPO, or certified sustainable palm oil. Whilst I would say yay - and I do - there's still a real worry that native habitat is cut down for the demand of CSPO just as much as other palm oils. You just can't win, it seems, and so my shopping list is reduced as I scan the ingredients of everything I buy, just in case.

And I'm lucky that I can afford to do it - I literally have no excuse.

I also had to stop eating pickled octopus. Don't gag. I've always loved it, getting a little tub when I went up the Melbourne markets. But dammit, octopuses are SMART. And beautiful living creatures that I had to stop eating. Because ethics. Because caring. Because love for all the creatures, even if they are slimy suckery things that you don't want to meet in a dark seaweedy alley at night, and taste good with vinegar.

@artemislives writes about this in her post last week about boycotting thai wild mushrooms that forests are set alight for:

Has my 15 year long amazon.com boycott changed rapacious & exploitative online retail behaviour? Errr... no. Neither has my decades-long Nestle boycott. And yet they continue. Because as as consumer I KNOW my most political act is how I spend my money. I KNOW that every purchase is a vote for the kind of world I choose to leave behind to my daughter, her generation and the ones who follow. I choose to believe that my personal acts have energetic power and are FELT by the greater conscious world. And I don't want to have "She Was Part Of The Problem" as my epitaph.

Students in the classrom will often ignore my pleas to boycott certain companies. I have downright dug my heels in and refused to take them to MacDonalds if we're on a school trip. 'But other teachers let us' they moan. I answer that I don't care, and stick to my guns. I find it strange that the majority of the kids don't seem to care. Perhaps compassion, empathy and care only come when you start leaving those ego-centric teen years, or perhaps they don't feel as if they could possibly make a difference, or perhaps they are just totally lead by their stomachs, which is quite likely at that age. Maybe they'll grown into it - I suspect many do, but just as many don't, which is what has led to the state of the world we seem to live in today, a world where profit drives us and individual wants and desires are put above all else, at the expense of others. But I don't want to talk about that much, because it makes me feel angry and depressed and sad, and I'd rather focus on the good that I can personally do.

It's not easy to boycott companies, choosing ethics over personal desires and even needs - in fact, it can be an outright pain in the ass, and cost us more too.

But I can't live with myself if I don't take these things into consideration.

My man's had to fly home to England twice in the last two months, the last time as his stepfather died. That Melbourne to London journey is hell on earth - cramped seats, terrible food and an arduous journey for a helluva lot of money. In fact, the second time I did it I swore I never would EVER do it again, but then I met the love of my life and I've done it a few more times and likely will again next year. Last month, we were really happy to find Royal Brunei Airlines were flying quite nice, new aircraft with a little more legroom for around $1000 return, which is amazing value. And my man actually got sleep on the plane, which is a minor miracle. We thought we'd found THE airline for future journeys - cheaper and better and faster.

And then. This headline:

Are you fucking kidding me? In this day and age? That's right - if you are adulterer or homosexual in Brunei, you can be stoned to death, and if you're a thief, well, off with your limbs. Whilst their sharia law has been on hold for four years due to heavy criticism (no suprise!) Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah thought it was wise to enforce this law whilst still thinking to boost tourism to the area, which had brought about those great flights in the first place.

I urge you to sign this petition, before we go any further.

My man saw a gay couple on his flight and didn't think anything of it at the time - it's just normal around here and part of this beautiful diverse human experience we are all living together. It was only in retrospect, upon hearing this news, that he realised that once you're on a Brunei aircraft, you're subject to their laws. Had that couple been on that flight after this law was enacted, they may never have made it to London. The thought makes me gag - it's like something out of a horror movie.

It's not just flights we should be boycotting either - the Sultan owns a heap of hotels. If you're staying in a big hotel, you might just want to check that. Hey, I don't plan to stay in the Beverly Hills Hotel any time soon, but you might be. He owns nine of them from what I can tell. Whilst I might be cynical about celebrities getting involved, at least they have - go George Clooney. Whether it'll make a difference or not, I don't know, and in fact that despairing side of me that sometimes utterly loses faith in humanity thinks it absolutely won't make a difference. Somehow the Sultan expects us to respect this decision whilst knowing the world is going to be appalled by it.

What the actual fuck.