首页
登录
职称英语
Teens Try to Change the World One Purchase at a Time When
Teens Try to Change the World One Purchase at a Time When
游客
2025-02-18
1
管理
问题
Teens Try to Change the World One Purchase at a Time
When classes adjourn here at the Fayerweather Street School, eighth-graders ignore the mall down the street and go straight to the place they consider much cooler: the local natural-foods grocer. There they gather in groups of ten or more sometimes, smitten by a marketing atmosphere that links attractiveness to eating well. When time comes to buy something even as small as a chocolate treat, they feel good knowing a farmer somewhere probably received a good price. "Food is something you need to stay alive," says eighth-grader Emma Lewis. "Paying farmers well is really important because if we didn’t have any unprocessed food, we’d all be living on candy."
Eating morally, as some describe it, is becoming a priority for teenagers as well as adults in their early 20s. What began a decade ago as a concern on college campuses to shun clothing made in overseas sweatshops has given birth to a parallel phenomenon in the food and beverage industries. Here, youthful shoppers are leveraging their dollars in a bid to reduce pesticide usage, limit deforestation, and make sure farmers aren’t left with a pittance on payday. Once again, college campuses are setting the pace. Students at 30 colleges have helped persuade administrators to make sure all cafeteria coffee comes with a "Fair Trade" label, which means bean pickers in Latin America and Africa were paid higher than the going rates. Their peers on another 300 campuses are pushing to follow suit, according to Students United for Fair Trade in Washington, D.C.
Coffee is just the beginning. Bon App6tit, an institutional food-service provider based in California, relies on organic and locally grown produce. In each year since 2001, more than 25 colleges have asked the company to bid on their food-service contracts. Though Bon App6tit intentionally limits its growth, its collegiate client list has grown from 58 to 71 in that period. "It’s really just been in the last five years that we’ve seen students become concerned with where their food was coming from," says Maisie Ganzler, Bon Appetit’s director of strategic initiatives. "Prior to that, students were excited to be getting sugared cereal."
To reach a younger set that often doesn’t drink coffee, Fair Trade importer Equal Exchange rolled out a line of cocoa in 2003 and chocolate bars in 2004. Profits in both sectors have justified the project, says Equal Exchange co-president Rob Everts. What’s more, dozens of schools have contacted the firm to use its products in fundraisers and as classroom teaching tools. "Kids often are the ones who agitate in the family" for recycling and other eco-friendly practices, Mr. Everts says. "So it’s a ripe audience."
Concerns of today’s youthful food shoppers seem to reflect in some ways the idealism that inspired prior generations to Join boycotts in solidarity with farm workers. Today’s efforts are distinct in that youthful consumers say they don’t want to make sacrifices. They want high-quality, competitively priced goods that don’t require exploitation of workers or the environment. They’ll gladly reward companies that deliver. One activist who shares this sentiment and hears it repeatedly from her peers is Summer Rayne Oakes, a recent college graduate and fashion model who promotes stylish Fair Trade clothing. "I’m not going to buy something that can’t stand on its own or looks bad just because it’s socially responsible," Ms. Oakes says. "My generation has come to terms with the fact that we’re all consumers, and we all buy something. So if I do have to buy food, what are the consequences?"
Wanting to ameliorate the world’s big problems can be frustrating, especially for those who feel ineffective because they’re young. Marketers are figuring out that teenagers resent this feeling of powerlessness and are pushing products that make young buyers feel as though they’re making a difference, says Michael Wood, vice president of Teenage Research Unlimited. His example: Ethos Water from Starbucks, which contributes five cents from every bottle sold to water-purification centres in developing countries. "This is a very easy way for young people to contribute. All they have to do is buy bottled water," Mr. Wood says. "Buying products or supporting companies that give them ways to support global issues is one way for them to get involved, and they really appreciate that."
Convenience is also driving consumer activism. Joe Curnow, national coordinator of United Students for Fair Trade, says she first got involved about five years ago as a high schooler when she spent time hanging out in cafes. Buying coffee with an eco-friendly label "was a very easy way for me to express what I believed in," she says. For young teens, consumption is their first foray into activism. At the Fayerweather Street School, Emma Lewis teamed up with classmates Kayla Kleinman and Therese LaRue to sell Fair Trade chocolate, cocoa, and other products at a school fundraiser in November. When the tally reached $8,000, they realised they were striking a chord.
Some adults hasten to point out the limitations of ethical consumption as a tool for doing good deeds and personal growth. Gary Lindsay, director of Children’s Ministries, encourages Fair Trade purchases, but he also organises children to collect toys for foster children and save coins for a playground-construction project in Tanzania. He says it helps them learn to enjoy helping others even when they’re not getting anything tangible in return. "When we’re benefiting, how much are we really giving? Is it really sacrifice?" Mr. Lindsay asks. Of Fair Trade products, he says: "Those things are great when we’re given opportunities like that once In a while, but I think for us to expect that we should get something out of everything we do is a very selfish attitude to have." [br] *
选项
答案
真
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3961722.html
相关试题推荐
TeensTrytoChangetheWorldOnePurchaseataTimeWhen
TeensTrytoChangetheWorldOnePurchaseataTimeWhen
TeensTrytoChangetheWorldOnePurchaseataTimeWhen
TeensTrytoChangetheWorldOnePurchaseataTimeWhen
TeensTrytoChangetheWorldOnePurchaseataTimeWhen
TeensTrytoChangetheWorldOnePurchaseataTimeWhen
cleaningupThecurrentrowoverclimatechange
cleaningupThecurrentrowoverclimatechange
cleaningupThecurrentrowoverclimatechange
cleaningupThecurrentrowoverclimatechange
随机试题
HowtoBeanExpertI.Backgroundinformationaboutthe
AnEnglishschoolboywouldonlyaskhisfriend:"Wassatime,then?"Tohist
Thefourmajormodesofsemanticchangeare______.A、extension,narrowing,eleva
(2013年)甲公司为国有大型集团公司,实施多元化经营。为进一步加强全面预算管理
根据《实行工程建设强制性标准监督规定》,建设单位有明示或者暗示施工单位使用不合格
某男,17岁,缺失,检查:拔牙创愈合良好,探(一),叩(一),但牙合龈距4~5m
下列哪项是慢性肝炎的主要病变特征?()A.气球样变 B.脂肪变性 C.点状
精密度是指A.对同一样品重复进行检测时所有结果的符合程度B.样品的检测值与真值的
教师要适应时代发展需要,拓宽知识视野,更新知识结构不断提高专业素养和教育教学水平
建设工程档案管理中,施工单位应实行( )负责制,逐级建立.健全施工文件管理岗位
最新回复
(
0
)