Jul 10, 2009

Tell me what I am eating, please

Apparently, according to this poll, people are becoming more concerned about what they are eating; or better, more concerned about what they buy. Being "environmentally" concerned in our decisions is becoming part of our everyday life. There are reasons to be cheerful about this, and reasons to be worried. The fact that there is a higher demand for goods which have lower carbon footprints may be in fact a welcome event, but the risk of a resurrection of protectionism becomes extremely likely. What people are asking for is information, so who' s gonna provide it? It is very likely that this taks is going to be performed by people with vested interests, able to convey their "right" information. As we reported here and here, there are common misperceptions about the environmental impact of what we eat and do. Information is a public good, and I think, even more in this case. Some form of intervention or cooperation here must happen if we want to be serious about climate change.

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