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Consumerism and the environment
Effects of consumerism
Effects of consumerism
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Working in the grocery store field, I had the chance to communicate with people of various background and social classes. I work as cashier at Hannaford in South Burlington which accepts most of card like food stamp, credit card or debit card. We see customers from both sides of the range; some are wealthy, while others are low and average workers people. I have worked as cashier field for a couple of years now, and before taking this Anthropology class I had never seen certain attributes that I have watched of late in our customer. I have understood that somebody 's social class is uncovered in numerous unexpected ways. My current observation are economic and cultural changes of class. One of my observation is that customer have exceptionally …show more content…
Low-class people do not compliant when it comes to buying products. Part of the issue is that they cannot afford the cost of healthy food. Since Food Stamp (the free government money for low-salary people) just help to buy little food, most of the time people need to choose between paying their utilities and purchasing high cost food that are healthy. Another issue is that these people do not understand consumerism manifest, how healthy is it or is that food have environmental or health impact. When they do not understand consumerism manifest, they do not ask for clarification because there is no choice to ask. "Consumerism is economically manifested in the chronic purchasing of new goods and services, with little attention to their true need, durability, product origin or the environmental consequences of manufacture and disposal"(Verdant). Upper-middle class people are opposite to lower class. They are not threatened by consumerism manifest. They are totally blind on the environmental consequences of manufacture and disposal while buying food. This is a conduct that is taught to upper working class children when they are youthful. This is outlined in Invisible Inequality in the discussion between the middle-class parents and children. When they tell their children that pay attention on environmental consequences while buying, but parents are not paying attention on it. This will make their children voiceless and shy to raise the voice about environmental pollution when they are
Wendell Berry, an environmental activist, cultural critic and a farmer tells consumers to eat “responsibly”. That consumers should realize that eating is an agricultural act. An act that gives us freedom. Meaning that every time we make choices about what we eat and who we purchase from, we are deciding what direction our food system moves. Berry states that to make a change we need to make individual choices to live free. “We cannot be free if our food its sources are controlled by someone else” (2). Berry argues that the average consumer buys available food without any question. That we depend on commercial suppliers, we are influence by advertisements we see on TV and that interfere with our food choices. We buy what other people wants us to buy. We have been controlled by the food industry, and regard eating as just something required for our survival. Berry want consumers to realize we should get an enjoyment from eating and that can only
What they do not realize is that not everyone can afford to buy the food they do. As I said earlier in the essay, they seem to be out of touch with everyday experiences. Freedman is urging the Pollanites to lower their food prices if their food really is better for people. This way everyone can become healthier.
Although the two authors do not refer to each other directly in their works, both their perspectives share a common ground that no enough income make people eating less healthy. Pinsker argues that the actual barrier that stops people from eating healthy is the lack of income (129-130). He uses studies to show that poor families choose processed food because children like those tasty processed food (Pinsker 129-134). Whereas poor families cannot afford the waste if children refused to eat healthier but less tasty food parents provided (Pinsker 129-134). Cortright also suggests that income matters the most to why people do not eat healthy. He even further discusses income as the most influential limiting factor by addressing that other factors such as physical proximity to local food sources do not cause people to eat less healthy (Cortright 135-138). The two authors, in general, reach a consensus and mutually prove that income plays as the biggest limiting factor for people to have healthy
Diversity is part of the American lifestyle. America is a country built on capitalistic principles, where a countries’ economy is controlled by a small number of people. People who tend to have power in the society tend to separate themselves from the rest. Looking back at different time period of American history diversity has shaped up the lives we live as Americans, whether it is because of gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, socioeconomic background, and capabilities/ disabilities, there is always diversity in society. Although, diversity is increasingly being viewed positively, and as much as people are proud of their differences. There will always be a way for human beings to diversify themselves into groups in which share similar interests.
Living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, our culture has naturally valued prestige and luxuries. We admire fancy items and often judge other individuals by the clothes they wear, the car they drive, and the schools that they attend. The “American Dream” serves as a motivational factor for people; believing that hard work and dedication can bring “success” to ones’ life. Although this is partially true, it is difficult for individuals in the middle class and lower class.
Social Class and Education”. It opens by discussing research conducted in the 1960’s in an effort to identify factors contributing to differences in the academic achievement of Whites and Blacks (Banks & Banks, 2013). Researchers hypothesized that the achievement gaps were mainly the result of disparities in school resources and characteristics, but found that there is a high correlation between achievement and socioeconomic status (SES) (Banks & Banks, 2013). Furthermore, attention is drawn to the class stratification which exists in our educational system and works to maintain inequality through exclusion strategies such as ability grouping and tracking (Banks & Banks, 2013). Evidence of the correlation between social class and education is presented with a glimpse into our higher education system. Despite the significant expansion in the number postsecondary institutions, and an increase in overall enrollment of low-income students, they are more likely to enroll in two-year, rather than four-year institutions, and privileged student attendance in highly selective institutions is increasing (Banks & Banks, 2013). The unintended consequence of the expansion of higher education institutions is an increase in class inequality, rather than a decrease, as more privileged students seek admittance to more selective institutions, locking less privileged students out (Banks & Banks, 2013). Greater access to the best universities helps privileged students maintain their class status, independent of their individual qualities. Consequently, privileged students have greater access to higher quality resources than do less privileged students attending less selective institutions, thereby inhibiting movement up the social class ladde...
The social environment during the revolution was complex, and only became more so as the colonies declared their independence. The colonies themselves could be divided along several lines including Northern, Mid-Atlantic and Southern colonies. They could also be considered by their populations as small or large colonies. These geographic and population based lines were likely as important as class lines during the American Revolution. The classes fell into three main categories. The gentry, the middle class and the lower class or poor. The economic class played a large role in the opportunities available at the time. Gentry typically held political offices while the middle class struggled to acquire enough property to attain voting rights. A few in the middle class might hold office as well. The poor or lower class which included slaves, servants and day laborers were not able to vote or hold office (Social classes in colonial America, n.d.).
Becoming an adult is signified differently in every culture, in America, reaching middle class status is one way that is used to indicate adulthood. To obtain middle class status one would need to acquire a job, become financially stable, get a house, and have a family. The “Mood Economy”, self-reliance, and distrust in institutions, as stated in Silva’s Coming Up Short, have reshaped what it means to become an adult. Replacing the traditional white picket fence ideals with new neoliberal ones. Although middle class status is still a goal for a lot of individuals, the number of people who reach middle class status has diminished significantly over the years. By examining the new milestones that mark adulthood and evaluating how the state reproduces little social mobility through “Attacking Solidarity” mentioned in Requiem for the American Dream, we can get a better idea of how the middle class disappeared before us.
According to Schwartz-Nobel, America will lose as much as 130 billion in future productive capacity for every year that 14.5 American children continue to live in poverty (Koppelman and Goodhart, 2007). Sadly the seriousness of poverty is still often clouded by myths and misunderstandings by society at large. This essay studies the issue of poverty and classism in today's society.
Research proves that low-income families will shop wherever the food prices are lower, and generally cannot afford to pay for healthful foods. In comparison to the residents of higher income communities, low-income households normally have diets that are higher in meat and processed foods and often have low intakes of fruits and vegetables. Research suggests that people with low socioeconomic status spend up to 37% more on food. This is because of smaller weekly food budgets in addition to poorly stocked stores. Those with lower income are more likely to spend money on inexpensive fats and sugars versus fresh fruits and vegetables that are more costly on a per calorie basis. Healthy foods like whole grain products are more expensive than high calorie junk foods.
In Toni Cade Bambara’s short story “The Lesson” there is no hiding what she intended to portray to the audience, the fact that there is a huge gap between the lower class citizens and the higher class citizens. This becomes apparent during one of Miss Moore’s infamous outings with the kids when she takes them to FAO Schwartz in Manhattan to teach them about money. Through this outing with Miss Moore the children realize that their way of life is far different than of those in Manhattan and that they belong to a different class of people altogether.
Society still classified each of us in three classes, the upper, middle and lower class, and we distinguished our status class based on prestige, religious affiliation and so on. Even though each individual has a different cultures, background and religious beliefs, we should not look at the person's race, color, age and sex, but we do, for instance, when it comes to jobs. We do pay the men and women totally different wage amounts for the same education background and skills, even though they work in a government, medical field, school environment or within the community. Class background may be a function of class identity, but eating with friends and coworkers is professional and managerial classes are more likely to eat in the homes of friends than those in working class occupations. When it comes to cooking, those with more education and income are more likely to be willing to experiment with new dishes or dishes of their own creation than are those with less income and education.
Social stratification is a system that societies use to rank members into organized and functioning groups. The way that the United States stratifies its members is by a class system. Upper, middle, and lower class are determined by the amount of money individuals have available to them for spending. Social class in America is a huge determinant of an individual’s quality of life. Education and training, or better yet the access to these, are what governs the amount of opportunity an individual has to make money and move up in social class. Often, social class can predetermine one’s fate before he or she has the chance to. Ambition means little when “class-based discrimination
Denied a job, missed opportunities, dating issues, societal oppression, and political targeting – These are all common examples of what happens when classism exists. Class, the economic or social status of an individual, in America is extremely important and can be easily used as a weapon against the masses. Classism as defined by Merriam-Webster is the "prejudice or discrimination based on class" (Merriam-Webster, 2017). Using class, or economic status, as a view point for an individuals, or group's worth, has been happening for many years. The act of discriminating against someone(s) based on this is at the heart of classism. This discrimination could be passing someone up for a job opportunity. Denying an application to college, apartment,
Before I read the chapter on social class, I thought social class was a category about people who are put into class by how much money they make; you are either poor or rich. However, there is much more regarding social class than I had originally thought. Social class it separated into a four tier criteria. Beginning at the bottom is the “lower class”, or “underclass” which is referred to by poverty, homeless, and unemployment. This class, usually hasn’t finished high school, doesn’t have medical care and can’t afford sufficient housing. Many people mischaracterize these poor people as mothers who abuse the welfare system by baring several babies that they can’t afford and fathers who are able to work but do not due to drug addiction or their