h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Cellophane is a magical substance that separates reality from the food we buy. As long as it is wrapped in plastic it doesn't matter where or what it came from. It is food, just an object for consumption. It is very difficult to apply ethics to consumerism. Not that I am saying it shouldn't be done, it is just that it is nearly impossible for human beings to think beyond what they see. When I look at a can of chipped beef for instance, I don't see the clearcut rainforests for grazing, the slaughetered cows, the underpaid foreign butchers, the chlorine bleach left in rivers after the label was printed, or even the strip mine that produced the metal for the can. All I see is a can of meat with a bright picture and a logo. Perhaps there is a flicker of memory at a bright a cheery commercial I saw earlier in the day. The problem is seeing past the packaging and into the creation of the product. The unfortunate side effect of this is the realization that you are a horrible person for buying this and the world is a worse place because of you.
Well I started rambling there, sorry about that. I believe that ethics can only be applied to consumerism in a theoretical sense. For a large percentage of the population it is almost impossible to care, or to even notice. They are stuck looking at cellophane. For others their personal feelings can't enter into it because of financial reasons. Sure you might hate the idea of cows being butchered and rainforests being cleared but a couple pounds of ground chuck is way cheaper than soy. And that is a big influence if you have a family to feed on an extremely fixed income.
Essentially my point is that ethics should be applied to consumerism but unfortunately it won't happen, especially with so many republicans running around.