ISCL is a Intelligent Information Consulting System. Based on our knowledgebase, using AI tools such as CHATGPT, Customers could customize the information according to their needs, So as to achieve

Declinology- are we on the decline?

4
Hello everyone

There has been a lot written about the symptoms of decay and decadence in Western culture.  An Australian documentary  Decadence: Decline of the Western World even goes as far as saying that Western civilisation peaked in 1969 – the year Russians and Americans reached out beyond earth.

Some sobering symptoms are grabbing attention.  Symptoms such as high suicide rates, high
consumption of anti-depressants, disintegrating families, uninspiring leadership, obsession with money and consumption are a few of the obvious ones.

It is little wonder then that yet a new word declinology has been created to brand this school of thought.  Declinology is the advocacy of the belief that one's society is in decline.

The symptom of this new way of thinking that really caught my attention was highlighted by Jacinta Dunn.   She points out that "just before the fall of the Roman Empire, they were all dining on lark's tongue and nightingale hearts". 

Not that I have eaten lark or nightingale but I know that much of Western civilisation is obsessed with food.  The incredible number of television programs about food, the books about food and dieting and the pages of major tabloids devoted to food and alcohol consumption are all testimony to this.

Yet I was impressed by a family who live in the bush and are trying to be totally sustainable.   They grow all their own food.  Their vegetable garden, chicken and other livestock
take up virtually all of their time.  For this family, at the self sustainability level, the obsession with food production is also obvious.  The difference though is that Western civilisation's obsession seems to be  about the production and nurturing of food sources.

It certainly is an indication of the ‘quality' of life that some people have that they can devote so much of their time to how and where they will consume their food.

Unfortunately much food is wasted.  In 2011, 1.3 billion tons of food,  about one third of
global food production, are lost or wasted annually.  Loss and wastage occur at every stage of food supply chain.   In low-income countries most loss occurs during production, while in developed countries much food – about 100 kilograms (220 lb) per person and year – is wasted at the consumption stage.

We can be aware and responsible for the huge environmental consequences of such waste .  Scarce water resources are wasted and unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions are generated through wasted production and decomposition in landfills.  For example. the methane that decomposing food produces has a greenhouse gas equivalency twenty-five times higher than carbon dioxide.

Where does your time and energy go with food? In the production or consumption?  Are you part of society on the decline or is your focus on responsible production? 

Live! Love! Laugh!

Roz Townsend 
roz@roztownsend.com
Source...
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up here to get the latest news, updates and special offers delivered directly to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe at any time

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.