Thursday, May 13, 2010

Greenwashing

The Times recently ran a story about the rise of corporate gardens. Is it a good thing to have more fresh produce in the world? Yes, especially since some of the crorps (corporate crops) are donated to food banks. Am I now going to say something about corporate gardens that isn't answered with a "yes?" Yes.

This is a blatant case of greenwashing. And if you don't know that word yet, learn it, 'cause you're going to see a lot more of it.

Is anyone really going to forgive PepsiCo for all of the diabetes, obesity, and environmental mayhem they've contributed to just because they're now growing some mint? I hope not, though I'm sure many will.

I also find it obnoxious that the people who produce junk food have the privilege of having access to organic veggies while so many of their customers don't. So I'm glad that there are a few more gardens out there, and that a few overworked execs have a chance to reconnect to life's essentials by digging in the dirt on their lunch breaks. But I almost wish they'd force everyone at PepsiCo to stick to the products that the company produces so that they'd have to share the same fate as all of their patrons.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well said! I hadn't hear about corporate gardens at Pepsi, but it sounds like the food world equivalent of Chevron running ads that tell people to drive less. Doesn't really make a dent in the harm they're doing to the world.

Epitome of Masculinity said...

Their patrons don't have to buy that stuff. Maybe organic is tough to get, but it's still not that hard to eat cheap and healthy.

As you know, I'm a fat guy who really should stop eating the stuff Pepsico puts out, but I'm not going to blame them for my problems or try to shut them down.

amandaloring said...

Ooooh Aaron! Very pertinent!