Tis perspective reframes sustainability
not as a technical problem to solve, but as an intergenerational relationship to nurture. It reminds us that the ways we teach, vote and care for the land influence generations yet to come, and that climate action cannot rest on individual behaviour alone.
FROM INDIVIDUAL GUILT TO COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY
Environmental challenges are deeply inter- connected, and so are their solutions. His- tory shows that smarter systems, not simply stricter habits, drive the biggest gains. Over the past century, advances in farming have tripled or even quintupled global crop yields, feeding more people without expanding farmland, and decreasing global hunger. Bet- ter seeds, more efficient fertilizers, decreased use of pesticides and more efficient farming practices have all contributed to these agri- cultural gains. In cities, investments in public transit
and green infrastructure reduce air, water and noise pollution, prevent traffic deaths, reduce emissions and make neighbourhoods more livable. When one solution strengthens several systems at once, progress accelerates across them all. Some of our
intuitions about what’s
“green” can be wrong. A fruit wrapped in thin plastic preserves freshness for weeks, dra- matically reducing food waste and preserving its total life cycle and energy used. We would have even more food waste without the plas- tic wrap, producing more emissions. Similarly, established palm oil farms (i.e.,
those not replacing old-growth forests) are highly efficient, producing far more oil on less land than alternatives like coconut or soybean. Replacing palm oil entirely would actually increase deforestation and emis- sions due to the greater land use required by any other oil. Still, no amount of careful consumer
choice can fix a broken system. Te scale of transformation we need requires political, economic and technological change. A single policy shiſt can equal or exceed the lifetime efforts of a million individuals. Tis is why civic participation matters:
when citizens, workers and educators act together, governments have to listen. Let’s spend less time debating whether oat milk is greener than soy (production of any dairy alternative emits far less than cow’s milk) while runaway corporate greed prioritizes profit at the expense of people and the planet.
24 ETFO VOICE | WINTER 2025
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