Green or Mean?

Why are free-range eggs so much more successful than carbon offsets? Do we really care more about chickens than the future well being of humanity?

It seems irrational to compare free-range eggs to carbon offsets and chickens to humanity but please read on you will see the correlation. The recognition of free-range as better for human (and the animal's) health is wide spread and eventually environmentally certified businesses will be too.

The Carbon Catalog writes...

Many consumer eco products have succeeded, from hybrid cars to fair trade chocolate to free range eggs. For items such as these, between 1% and 40% of consumers make the ethical choice, compared to just 0.01% who choose to buy offsets.

Let's go back to free range eggs, which capture 40% of the UK market. Joe is in the supermarket, and knows he needs some eggs. On the shelf he is confronted by an array of choices. A dozen regular eggs cost just $3, while the free range equivalent is $5.

Let's say Joe is one of the 40% who choose the free-range variety. Why on earth would he spend $2 extra? What went through his mind in making that decision?

If Joe is anything like me, he thinks about some chickens cooped up in a barn, and about other chickens frolicking in a field. He reckons $2 is not a lot of money to make some chickens happy. He might also persuade himself that happy chickens lay slightly superior eggs. He thinks, "I know it's not the cheapest option, but $5 for a dozen eggs still feels reasonable to me, and I get to do some good in the process."

Joe spent some money, got some eggs, and (as a bonus) feels good about himself.

With the introduction of the Carbon Tax and the prominence of environmental issues and regulations gaining momentum, consumers are beginning to think more about their impact on the environment. Businesses that have been environmentally certified are going to be preferred. Consumers are going to determine whether a business is environmentally sustainable before they purchase their product. Choice will come down to what is better for the environment and ultimately better for humanity. What sounds more appealing? A product created by a business that is unable to meet basic environmentally preferred requirements or a product that is developed by a business, which conserves energy, water, resources, minimizes waste and promotes greener living and positive environmental change?

It's not that we care more about chickens than the future well being of humanity...Perhaps it's that the negative consequences of our actions haven't been highlighted enough. If we can sympathize for battery hens perhaps we can envision a world with fresh soil, air and water and sympathize for ourselves. We need to be made aware of the impact of our choices. Green or mean? Where does your business fall?