I fully understand why we are all now concerned about the future of our civilization and the planet. That is refreshing, even if it is insincere in my opinion. But, the more important and immediate question is when does business do more harm than good by being in business? How do we solve international business existential problems: businesses that are profitable but not in the best interest of the planet?
It is pretty easy to criticize extractive businesses like mining that are unsustainable and are simply raping the planet. Many of these put local poor people, especially children, in harms way as their desperate plight exposes them to unsafe and hazardous conditions. You have heard me talk about EVs being the blood diamonds of this decade for this reason.
But there seems to be a more subtle and insidious practice of cultivating land for cash crops, and in doing so, opens up a whole new raft of corruption and abuse, no less environmental impacts. Little did I know that avocados are creating the same situation in Mexico that the world decries with the destruction of the Amazon due to raising beef. Take a closer look at the damage in Mexico here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/28/us/mexico-avocado-deforestation.html?searchResultPosition=2
We see countless rallies about carbon dioxide emissions, but the simple fact that China rapes the oceans to feed their masses and drives food stocks into extinction is well known but I never hear about it in our news press coverage of our relationship to China. Why is AI, Taiwan, and industrial espionage take the spotlight, while the exploitation of the world’s food supply goes unnoticed?
Yes, of course there are lots of issues that need more consideration, but destroying the food stock of the planet seems to me to certainly deserve being in the list. You do remember when China had a one child policy because they themselves realized that policy was not working.
This situation in Mexico is a litmus test for whether we can work together to solve these problems. The article in the NY Times brings it into the light of day, but can we bring this to a logical conclusion?
Hopefully, we will learn more and act rather than just turn a blind eye to one more area of neglect.
