MNN - Mother Nature Network

Pretty much every green website will advise you to eat local, organic, less-processed foods, for reasons ranging from better health to a smaller food carbon footprint. But if you're left wondering how exactly your food choices impact the world at large, all you have to do is look closely at a single "conventional" meal.

 

That's what a new sassy animated short film does. By looking at how a a nice old couple’s barbeque chicken meal got to their table, this film, called "Our Little World,"  reveals how just a single meal in a private backyard is connected to many of the big problems created by our consumer culture and a less than eco-friendly global trade system.

 

Watch it, and just a few minutes later you'll be able to have intelligent cocktail conversations about food miles and destructive farming practices at the next Green Drinks!

 

For a more macro view of consumerism's effect on the environment, watch The Story of Stuff. This longer 20-minute video talks not just about food, but about all the items we may own or want to own, be it a new iBook or the latest jacket from the Gap. The narrator, Annie Leonard, revals the contrasting messages between a capitalist culture that, by only telling part of the story, makes buying stuff seem harmless -- or even patriotic -- and a more comprehensive view of products' lifecycles that show why always buying more and upgrading to the newest gadget's an unsustainable practice.

 

After watching the video, you can also visit The Story of Stuff's website to learn more using the site's interactive features. Don't buy stuff you don't need!