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Green shoppers around the world

If you want to be a responsible consumer, think about not just how much you buy, but also about what’s good for the planet. Green Shoppers United is an international non-profit organization for the promotion of responsible consumerism.

Labels

Read the labels. Some...................the ingredients that manufacturers use in products, such as cosmetics or toiletries, can damage the environment. Some ingredients are only used...................make things prettier, or more colorful, but they might also be harmful. Don’t buy things that contain substances that harm you or the world you live................... For example, research shows a potential link...................the preservatives called parabens, often found in beauty products, and some types of cancer. 

Transport

In today’s global economy, it is easier for companies to buy products and materials where they’re cheap, and transport them over enormous distances to get them to customers. If you can, buy things locally. The local food movement has grown steadily in recent years, and it’s often possible to track down locally grown, or produced, products, rather than those that have been transported long distances. If we stop buying goods that have had to fly over continents to get to us, companies may stop transporting them around unnecessarily. A bargain may cost you less personally, but the real price we pay for it in the long run may turn out to be too high, as jet fuel continues to pollute our environment. 

Environment 

Responsible consumers recycle to reduce waste, and its negative impact on our environment. A lot of the plastic packaging we use for food and drink is recyclable, but not all of it. The most common packaging materials are still non-recyclable polyethylene and PVC. Seventy million tons are used every year. Look at the recycling labels carefully. Manufacturers should use recyclable plastics, like PET, wherever possible. Some have also begun using lighter materials, for example, 30% lighter PET plastic for drinks bottles, to reduce the amount of plastic waste. Transporting lighter materials is cheaper, and uses less fuel, too – so the solution may actually benefit everyone. 

Packaging

We’ve all purchased products wrapped in foil, then sealed in a bag, and then put in a box. Why? Write to companies that you think produce wasteful packaging. Ask them to think about what’s really necessary. Make them realize they can save money by using less packaging and, at the same time, help save our planet.

Consumers

A lot of us expect products these days to be more environmentally friendly. However, research has shown that we don’t want to pay more, and we don’t want to compromise on the quality of products, either. For example, one manufacturer recently had to switch back to less environmental packaging of potato chips, just because customers didn’t like the noise their “green” bags made when they were opened! Think about the effects of your shopping choices. Buy less to save the world, and join our effort to make shopping greener!

Read the Text I and answer the five questions that follow it.

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Correspondence

Human genome editing: potential seeds of conflict

Recently, The Lancet published an important declaration regarding the necessity of regulating and legislating for human genome editing. We agree with their opinions that the human genome editing technology and resulting research can have both positive and negative effects on human society. The use of genome editing for research and commercial purposes has sparked debates in both biological and political realms. However, most of them have mainly focused on the effects of human genome editing on the patients themselves, and little attention has been paid to their offspring.

Several films, such as Gattaca and Gundam SEED, have addressed the conflicts that arise from human genome editing. Such conflicts not only exist within the generation who have experienced editing but are also transmitted to their offspring. For example, in these films, the offspring of people without genome editing felt a sense of unfairness regarding the inferiority of their physical (or other non-edited domains) status, whereas the offspring of people with genome editing grew up in a biased, discriminated against, and ostracized environment. They could have lived in peace with a strong and well regulated government; however, when the tenuous grip of government weakens, jealousy and resentment can lead to ruins. Although these scenes still exist in films, they might become increasingly plausible in decades to come. Using the concept of preparedness, access, countermeasures, tools, and trust, we should prepare legitimate human genome editing, establish access to deal with imminent or potential discrimination, develop countermeasures and tools for prevention and resolution of conflict, and entrust future generations with the responsibility to use them wisely.

Bing-Yan Zeng, Ping-Tao Tseng, *Chih-Sung Liang

Adapted from: www.thelancet.com, vol. 401, June 24, 2023 athttps://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2823%2901084-X