The newest State of the World report is being released today. Every year, Worldwatch Institute publishes a new edition with its own theme. The theme for State of the World 2010 is “Transforming Cultures – From Consumerism to Sustainability.” The book defines “consumerism” as a cultural orientation that leads people to find meaning, contentment, and acceptance primarily through what they consume.
“We’ve seen some encouraging efforts to combat the world’s climate crisis in the past few years,” says project director Erik Assadourian. “But making policy and technology changes while keeping cultures centered on consumerism and growth can only go so far. To thrive long into the future, human societies will need to shift their cultures so that sustainability becomes the norm and excessive consumption becomes taboo.”
This year’s State of the world features articles by many authors considered to be experts in their own area of sustainability. Two articles that are particularly relevant to readers of One Planet Diet are “From Agriculture to Permaculture”, by Albert Bates and Toby Hemenway and “Rethinking School Food –The Power of the Public Plate” by Kevin Morgan and Roberta Sonnino.
The article on permaculture moves us beyond growing organic to a form of agriculture where crops are grown in polycultures that mimic communities occurring naturally in nature, to take advantage of potential relationships among different design elements. The chapter on school food highlights the importance of reforming the school food program to introduce children to healthy eating and sustainable living at the ages in which lifelong habits are established.
People are beginning to realize that current fast-paced consumer focused lifestyles are diminishing our quality of life and are seeking changes that lead to more satisfaction rather than more goods. State of the World 2010 – Transforming Cultures brings together the most important components of sustainable living to help create a new generation of “cultural pioneers” that will be needed to forge the trail to sustainable lifestyles.
A preview copy is available on the Worldwatch website and the book can be purchased at local bookstores or through Amazon.
It has been a pleasure to contribute to the launch of State of the World 2010.