When companies run blogs, they’re usually cut and dry. Problem, solution. But what happens when you’re in an industry where the problems you choose have no immediate solutions? To us, ethical supplements and ethical education go hand in hand. You have to know what you’re fighting before you can resist effectively. Planting your flag anywhere prematurely can just deepen the trenches.
This blog will touch on some of the things that helped us make more informed decisions in our own lives. Additionally, these thoughts allowed us to articulate what we could offer. High-quality educational content, fitness and nutrition, and supplements that do not compromise at any step of production.
Where the world goes right, we want to go left. Want to follow us? Read on.
Understanding Emotional Bias
Worldviews can start to feel like science fair projects. We all have unique outlooks and perspectives that have been gathered over decades. Sometimes these are hard to explain or understand, but what we know is in our gut. It’s ours, and it’s how we navigate right and wrong.
That being said, we are, ourselves, works in progress. That “science fair project” is never completed. It’s always in a state of growth and expansion, challenge and synthesis. Things that go against our previously-held beliefs are opportunities for change. Consider the following—something we’ll touch on in a future blog:
Animal poaching is bad for the environment and governments worldwide.
Having a hunter kill specimens from an endangered population is cause for outrage worldwide. Yet still, shift the narrative slightly, and a different story emerges.
Big game hunters from North America and Europe inject valuable capital into many developing countries. This money is used to bolster conservation budgets and improve the quality of their protective services. Additionally, the animals selected for hunting are chosen for their place in the ecosystem. (Overly aggressive, elderly, or sick populations can be culled ethically.) This thinning improves the ecosystem further, all the while increasing Safari traffic and discouraging poachers.
The emotional effect of hearing about wealthy and predominantly white hunters going into a developing nation and paying to kill may seem unethical at first. However, you see how these hunters play an invaluable role in maintaining conservation targets once you zoom out.
No one said it would be easy to understand ethics—you just have to keep an open mind.
Understanding Your Place in the World
One of the most accessible avenues into ethical living involves plant-based diets. While the ethical line regarding animal rights is one that every person navigates personally, a driving cause in many vegan lifestyles is the environmental impact of meat consumption. It is estimated that for every one pound of beef, 1910 gallons of water are required. That’s no small amount!
A response strategy to this metric is to reduce meat consumption or switch to an all-plant diet. However, let’s consider the other trade-offs that happen in this situation:
- If you switch to meat substitutes, are the ingredients sourced from reputable sources that do not engage in deforestation practices?
- How much energy is required to transport fresh produce to your area?
- Is there an associated human cost with switching your food sources?
We do not claim to have these answers and respect the lifestyle choices of readers. However, as you can see, the tradeoffs are deeply complicated.
Suppose you live in a rural area or region with significant grazing space and meat production. In that case, there is a chance that from an environmental perspective, a plant-based diet introduces more waste through packaging and transport than would be accrued through eating locally sourced meats.
The takeaway is that no solution is simple—but neither is considering all of the alternatives.
The work that Ethical Inc. does includes deeply vetting our suppliers—from growth to packaging.
We want to offer the highest quality nutritional supplements possible. With no considerations spared as to our supply chain, sustainability goals, and partnerships.
Our posts are meant to stimulate thoughts on modern ethics and provide alternate viewpoints we may not have considered. Also, we encourage the growth and exploration of our readers.
If you have questions on our projects or are considering ethical consumerism yourself, please—contact us! Because we’re eager to hear from you and share thoughts about the world we can make better through small choices every day.
Take care,
Team Ethical
