CORPORATIONS
NUTRITION
So nutrition and the big corporations behind this it. Talking about nutrition means everything that you can eat and drink.
As in every branche there are several big players. Most of these brands own smaller brands, this way you actually have no idea how much of a monopoly it actually is. This makes it very hard for us to support smart businesses and see the trees through the forest. However if you educate yourself, you can learn and share your knowledge.
From the seeds that are put in the soil, to the pesticides used to grow crop and the eventual product (GMO or non GMO) that we see in the supermarket is influenced by these corporations. The same goes for any animal product you consume and all processed you put in your shopping cart.
Now this wouldn’t be such a big issue if it would be controlled by people that have our best interest at heart. I hate to break it to ya but they don’t. They’re in it for the shmoney and have been extremely successful.
The marketing they do is extremely good (fast food chains and processed food), the teachings we’ve gotten in school have been in their favor (meat and dairy industry) and the pesticides have been promoted as a gift from the heavens (not talking about health risks for humans and soil).
Now I’m not saying you should go vegan and only shop locally or at farmers markets. But I am saying that you should educate yourself what certain foods do to our body. That a lot of processed foods are made to be addictive so we eat more and that they have a detrimental effect on the quality if our life.
PHARMACEUTICAL
Doctor, give me my pills… In our medical system you study medicine, you literally learn which medicine belongs to what disease. Which is good because the doctor will know what to prescribe you once you get something. But wouldn’t it be really great if you wouldn’t have to go the doctor? Because you’re healthy and you know what’s good for you?
Yea, that sounds pretty impossible right? Everyone needs to go the doctor, everyones GOT something. And I’m not talking about a broken leg or a twisted ankle. Our Western medicine is great for acute problems. When you need to go to the emergency room because something happened western medicine is amazing. However a lot of diseases are developed over time and a quick fix, a pill or any other acute respons to something that has been lingering in your body won’t work.
Somehow I believe we should be focussing on preventing disease rather than treating disease. It’s crazy to think that when people are suffering from diabetes, cardio vascular diseases or cancer no one tells them what they could do at home to speed up their healing process. Just come to hospital, get your pills/ treatment and go home. Even worse when staying in the hospital you’ll be served the worst possible food. It’s just a rigid system. Got a headache? Here’s a pill. Got a heart burn? Here’s a pill. Got skin problems? Here’s a pill. For every pill there’s a side effect so we only get more reliant on pills to fight the side effects of the first pills, it’s a never ending story. Not even to mention what part nutrition plays in this.
All of this is obviously great for big pharmaceutical companies that benefit from us being sick and reliant on expensive treatment and pills..
Now what can we do? We can educate ourselves. Understand how can we heal ourselves and improve the quality of our life.
BANKS
Banks, yes what do they actually do except keeping our money safe? Well for one they invest. Invest you say? Do explain.
Well the money you can spend on stuff is determined by the digital number you can see on your screen. Now this digital number is not what’s actually lying in a vault somewhere, this number is just a digital number. Meaning not actual, you can’t actually touch it. As most people know the banks use these numbers (your money) to invest in certain companies, products or other entities in which they think they’d be able to generate more money. Once they invested and made extra income you won’t notice a bit, all that extra income will go to the banks themselves.
Not great but also nothing to worry about right? You get the money you should be getting and the banks just make extra money so they’re financially strong and are able to give out loans when necessary. Where it gets iffy is when you start looking what investments banks are making. So what causes are they supporting and what companies are they putting your savings in? Something I never really gave any thoughts until a friend told me what my bank was investing in… Weaponry, war, conflict areas, fossil fuels etc. etc. At that moment I decided to look into this and well boy was she right.
I openend up the book of banking and was surprised of what I found. Also I think it’s important to state that we have more power than we think. We can vote with our wallets and show that we do care about the investments banks make and that we do not support certain investments that do not support a more sustainable future.
ENERGY
Energy is a though one. Obviously most of our energy still originates from fossil fuels. A change we need to address asap. However it doesn’t feel like most energy companies are to keen on doing so. Why? Because green energy is free. Energy obtained from the sun, the wind or even electra is completely free (after setting up the necessary means of course)
You’ll see that most green energy companies are actually cheaper than the ones relying on fossil fuels and gas.
Furthermore it’s actually insane to think that we’re drilling even deeper in the earth to obtain these fuels while we could also be focussing on how to supply an entire country of clean energy. A good thing is that there’s already a lot of people and companies developing ways we can all use clean energy. And I wish we would focus on that more! Unfortunately what we here often is that another oil ship has sunk or they’re making massive gas pipes under water. All of which are important to know but it’s also amazing to know that so many companies, universities and otherlike minded people have been working on ways to provide everyone with free clean energy.
We as people can make a shift in what we want big corporations to focus on. We are the fuel, and if the fuel decides to stop giving energy to the situation, there’s not much to do but to look where the fuel is going. If we choose another scenario, big corporations will be forced to adjust.
“Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.”
DOCUMENTARIES
DIRTY MONEY
There’s a cliche that says “the rich get richer,” and while that may be true it’s not always done through legal or moral methods. This docuseries takes a look at stories of scandal and corruption in business, exposing acts of corporate greed and corruption.The episodes feature firsthand accounts of the unscrupulous activities from the perspectives of both the perpetrators and their victims. Some of the tales that are told include a car company that cheats emissions tests to save money and the drama and shady deals that abound in Donald Trump’s business empire. You can watch Dirty Money on Netflix.
AN INCONVINIENT TRUTH ABOUT POWER
A decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought the climate crisis into the heart of popular culture, comes the riveting and rousing follow-up that shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. Former Vice President Al Gore continues his tireless fight, traveling around the world training an army of climate champions and influencing international climate policy.
Cameras follow him behind the scenes — in moments both private and public, funny and poignant — as he pursues the inspirational idea that while the stakes have never been higher, the perils of climate change can be overcome with human ingenuity and passion.
THRIVE is an unconventional documentary that lifts the veil on what’s REALLY going on in our world by following the money upstream — uncovering the global consolidation of power in nearly every aspect of our lives. Weaving together breakthroughs in science, consciousness and activism, THRIVE offers real solutions, empowering us with unprecedented and bold strategies for reclaiming our lives and our future.
In this documentary the makers of Zeitgeist break down our economic system. They show how this system started, where our money comes from and who benefits the most of this structure. It’s incredibly interesting and important to understand the system we’re living in if you actually want to get out of it.
“The Earthing Movie: The Remarkable Science of Grounding” is directed by Sundance Award-Winning filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell (The Big Fix, FUEL, etc). This is a feature-length documentary based on their viral short film entitled ‘Down To Earth,’ that reveals the scientific phenomenon of how we can heal our bodies by doing the simplest thing that a person can do…standing barefoot on the earth. She suffered from several diseases after bing exposed to toxics while working on a project, their little daughter also has battled several unexplained symptoms and illnesses. In this documentary you see their journey of healing.
Based on Joel Bakan’s bestseller The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, this 26-award-winning documentary explores a corporation’s inner workings, curious history, controversial impacts and possible futures. One hundred and fifty years ago, a corporation was a relatively insignificant entity. Today, it is a vivid, dramatic, and pervasive presence in all our lives. Like the Church, the Monarchy and the Communist Party in other times and places, a corporation is today’s dominant institution. Charting the rise of such an institution aimed at achieving specific economic goals, the documentary also recounts victories against this apparently invincible force. It’s a 2+ hr documentary and it can get a bit dauntig at times but it’s packed with shit that we should know!
BANKS TO WATCH
SUSTAINABLE BANKS
WHY ARE THEY SUSTAINABLE?
TRIODOS
NL/EU
Triodos Bank’s mission is to make money work for positive social, environmental and cultural change. To make sure their interest in these areas is positive they only invest in sustainable enterprises and they only use the ‘real’ money entrusts to them but savers and investors. They want to put their impact in a global context and enable stakeholders to understand the sustainability of different banks.
ASN
NL
ASN is a Dutch bank that falls under the mother company of the ‘Volksbank’ while all of the banks are environmentally conscious, ASN is their front runner. The whole group (SNS, RegioBank & BLG wonen) aims to be climate neutral in 2030, ASN is already there so they know it’s possible. ASN is very transparent in which companies they invest and which ones they don’t approve of, examples of companies that they don’t invest in are google, nike and nestle. They believe that they can use economy to help restore nature.
ASPIRATION
USA
This online neo-bank is a certified B-Corp and fellow 1% for the Planet member. An industry leader in giving back, Aspiration donates 10% of every dollar their customers pay to charity.
Aspiration’s impact is the opposite of what you’d expect from a “big bank.” Not only do they not invest in fossil fuels, but they also have a Planet Protection option. That means when you opt for an Aspiration Plus account, they do some of the world-saving legwork for you, automatically offsetting the carbon emissions for each gallon of gas you purchase with your Aspiration card.
HARMFULL BANKS
WHAT DO THEY INVEST OUR MONEY IN?
BARCLAYS
UK
According to the Banking on Climate Change report the worst offender in Europe is Barclays. Since the Paris agreement was signed, Barclay has funded the industry a well $85 billion, from fracking and coal in Britain to the Dakota Access pipeline in North America. In each case this funding has been integral to fossil fuel companies undertaking ecocide projects, sometimes forcefully against the wishes of local communities.
JP MORGAN
USA
JP Morgan’s overall top position was built on impressive performances, many of which feature environmental degradation. In the years 2016,2017,2017 that is since the Paris Climate accord was adopted, JP Morgan increased its funding to fossil fuels by nearly $200 billion.
ING
NL/EU
So according to the ‘eerlijkegeldwijzer.nl’ ING scored far worst on all topics accept corruption where all banks score a solid 8. It’s known that ING has invested 510 million in 10 different weapon companies and there’s no policy to prevent the supplying of weapons to conflict and warzones. As of today ING’s policy does not include reducing financing or investing in fossil fuels. There is also a lack of policy to encourage companies to switch to renewable energy sources. In addition, there is a lack of a sufficiently strict policy regarding the production of biomass and CO2 offsetting.
CAN WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
HOW DOES THE INDIVDUAL IMPACT?
YES
FO SHIZZL
As I think many people (including myself) are underestimating is the power of a group, the power we have if we could unite and make decisions that are not only good for us but for those around us and the planet we live on. We are able to force a shift by voting with our wallets.
Obviously this won’t solve all of our problems but it will force bigger banks to actually put their money where their mouth is and choose sustainable projects and companies to invest in instead of weapon manufacturers and fossil fuels. If we’d take our money out of these banks and put them in more sustainable banks like the ones listed in the left column we’d be sending out a clear message. Even if we have a gran total of 100 euros on that account it’s still an account less.
Plus as soon as you make a shift you’re actually helping the planet without having to do anything extra. I mean why the heck not right?!
Voting with our wallets is of course something we can do all branches. more branches, one great example is in the energy companies we choose to provide our everyday energy. Listed below I’ve listed several companies that are doing great and ones that are not doing so great. I understand that you don’t always have the choice to choose your own supplier (if it’s already included in your rent for example) but if you do have the possibility to choose your own energy supplier please keep in mind who you choose!