The
specter of rising consumption and the “unprecedented consumer appetite is
undermining the natural systems we all depend on, making it even harder for the
world’s poor to meet their basic needs,” according to Christopher Flavin,
Worldwatch Institute (WWI) President.
The
Institute released its State of the World 2004 Report highlighting the
consequences of rampant consumption on the health of people and the planet.
Consumption
Takes Its Toll
Since
1960, private consumption expenditures have risen fourfold, reaching US$20
trillion in 2000. One quarter of the world population, 1.7 billion, now fall
within the consumer class - close to a half of the world’s consumers are
located in the developing world.
While
it will require an estimated US$19 billion to eliminate hunger and malnutrition,
Europeans and Americans spend a staggering US$17 billion on pet food. Two out of
every five people in the world, 2.4 billion people worldwide, do not have basic
sanitation. Annual expenditure on ocean cruises is US$14 billion.
A
collective amount of US$22 billion is spent on perfume and make-up every year
– 2.8 billion people live on less than $2 a day. World consumers spend US$35
billion a year on bottled water; 1.1.billion people did not have access to safe
drinking water in 2000.
These
gross disparities are symptoms of the disease that is eating away at human and
environmental health. According to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), people
are consuming 20 per cent more natural resources than the earth can produce.
While
the impact of consumers in the developing world on the environment is certainly
growing, the Living Planet Report produced by the WWF shows that the
“ecological footprint” of the average North American is seven times that of
the average Asian or African. The ecological footprint, the pressure placed by
humans on hundreds of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish,
and caused by our consumption of renewable natural resources, is a measure of
environmental sustainability.
Dr.
Claude Martin, WWF Director General said, “We are spending nature’s capital
faster than it can regenerate…running up an ecological debt which we won’t
be able to pay off unless governments restore the balance between our
consumption of natural resources and the Earth’s ability to renew them.”
The
Living Planet Report also indicates a 35 per cent decline in the Earth’s
ecological health since 1970. Among the by-products of production and
consumption are widespread water and air pollution, land degradation and habitat
destruction. From 1970 to 2000 populations of terrestrial (land) and marine
(sea) species have plummeted by 30 per cent. In this period, freshwater
populations plunged by a dramatic 50 per cent.
The
toll on human health is equally alarming.
The
costs of consumption – the scramble to work harder, earn more and purchase
more – has led to an array of social and health costs that are plaguing
consumers across the globe.
The
WWI Report indicates that while Americans are richer and fatter, they are not
much happier. The personal costs associated with wealth and consumption, such as
“financial debt, the time and stress associated with working to support high
consumption…and the ways in which consumption replaces time with family and
friends” all indicate that more and bigger is not always better.
The
Ramadan Recipe
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Several Muslim scholars are coming to the fore in declaring smoking to be haram (unlawful)
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The
three key health costs associated with rising consumption are smoking, obesity
and time pressures. Medical expenses related to smoking cost the United States
more than US$150 billion in 1999 – close to 1.5 times the revenue of the five
largest tobacco companies. Every year, smoking contributes to around 5 million
deaths across the world.
In
light of the medical research that has conclusively proven the health risks of
smoking, several Muslim scholars are coming to the fore in declaring smoking to
be haram (unlawful). Unfortunately, many Muslims are still smoking.
Ramadan is an ideal time to kick the habit, as smokers abstain from sunrise to
sunset – an ideal way to detox! Ramadan therefore provides not only spiritual
rewards, but also the added benefit of physical cleansing.
A
second cost tied to rising consumption is obesity. An estimated 65 per cent of
adults are overweight or obese in the United States. Obesity is not confined to
the USA, but is now a phenomenon associated with aggressive consumption and
sedentary lifestyles across the world.
Traditionally,
Muslims around the world cook special dishes, not always healthy, during the
month of Ramadan. There is certainly a trend among South African Muslims, with
growing awareness of health issues, towards cooking healthier in Ramadan. A
resurgence of interest in natural health and healthy cooking has also led to the
rediscovery of the wisdom and benefit in the Ramadan diet of the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him), who ended his fast with water and dates. Fasting
thus brings with it the benefits of eating less, eating healthier, drinking
water and sharing.
The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Narrated
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): Allah’s messenger (peace and
blessings be upon him) said, “The food for two persons is sufficient for
three, and the food for three persons is sufficient for four persons.”
(Bukhari, 7:304)
The
third cost is the time pressures of modern living. While consumers have to work
harder and longer to afford an extra car, a DVD player, a holiday house or to
spend more on accumulating objects with little use, time spent with family and
friends is decreasing. For many Muslim families, one of the best gifts of
Ramadan is the time spent together as a family.
The
pre-dawn meal suhoor and even moreso the sunset meal iftar allow
families to enjoy this time together. Granted that most family members are
usually in a semi-comatosed stage at the pre-dawn meal, the evening meal,
evening prayers and even shopping expeditions provide quality family time not
always utilized during the year.
Ramadan
proves that with more effort, one can stop smoking, eat less and spend more time
with one’s family. Furthermore, it is reported that the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) was the most charitable during this month, thereby
setting an example for Muslims to give not only the special charity of zakat
al-fitr, paid by every Muslim at the end of the month of fasting, but also to
spend on the poor and the needy. What happens after Ramadan?
Putting
the Recipe to Test
While it will require an estimated US$19 billion to eliminate hunger and malnutrition, Europeans and Americans spend a staggering US$17 billion on pet food.
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The
unchecked pursuit of wealth that has continued unabated for centuries, albeit in
different disguises, has caused untold misery and hardship for a large number of
people across the world.
It
is inconceivable that money be poured into sport and entertainment on a
monumental scale while people are dying of hunger and thirst. It is unjust that
millions of people should face starvation, when their countries are exporting
cash crops such as coffee, cocoa, pineapples and timber to satisfy consumer
appetites. The world is in desperate need of a solution that can tackle the
destructive social, physical, moral and health costs of consumption.
Ramadan
has offered Muslims the opportunity to build their consciousness, to learn to
control their appetites, to share with the needy and the poor and to spend time
with their families. Moreover, it cleanses the body both spiritually and
physically, leaving Muslims with a renewed faith and commitment to continue upon
this path.
WWI
President Christopher Flavin calls for self-control in checking the consumption
juggernaut: “In the long run, meeting basic needs, improving human health, and
supporting a natural world that can sustain us will require that we control
consumption, rather than allow consumption to control us.”
One
of the key aims of Ramadan is to build consciousness and self-control. It is
time this recipe be put to the test in individual lifestyles as well as the
broader society. Ramadan’s recipe teaches Muslims that they do not live to
eat, but that they eat to live and to worship the Creator of the universe.
References:
