Talking about the EU and sustainability: have you heard of the Green Deal?
Sofie: ‘Yes, and my biggest critique would be the lack of communication about it. Of course, all of the information is publicly available, but you have to really look for it yourself.’
Susanna: ‘I have heard of it as well and the criticism that people have about it. Sometimes I feel there is a very strong tendency to point the finger at the EU and always criticize everything they do. But we need to recognize that they operate in a field where they have different influences and pressures around them. It is not that they do not care about the environment, it is just that they have groups pressuring them, lobbying them and then also they have nation states that have their own interests. It is a very complex environment.’
Is there a role for you and me in this complex environment to help them towards a more sustainable direction?
Susanna: ‘If we think of economic power and the interests attached to it, this is probably not going to influence policy in the direction of sustainable living we wish for. So, I think influencing really needs to come from citizens that exert pressure on the state. This is about our safety and living conditions. It is important that also citizens like you and me, are taking responsibility for this because we do have a certain power in that way.’
Sofie: ‘Indeed, exercising your democratic rights to hold your government accountable for what it should be doing. We need to work within the system that is in place and shift the focus towards a more sustainable while keeping in mind that system change is very slow.’
Do you have an example of how you used your democratic rights?
Sofie: ‘We actually went together to one of the big climate marches here in The Hague. It was very motivating when you are part of such a big crowd and you see that everyone around you is fighting for the same cause. And I think peaceful protests like this, do get noticed and talked about.’
Are there other ways in which you contribute to be part of the solution?
Susanna: ‘We recently organized a clothing swap together with a couple of friends. We all brought clothes that are of good quality and in decent shape that we ourselves did not use anymore.’
Sofie: ‘We had clothes racks to display everything and made it into a whole activity with a fashion show showing the items and served some drinks and snacks. It is nice to know that things you do not need anymore will be appreciated by someone else. I think that is also a nice aspect of circularity.’
Susanna: ‘I think it is sort of a mindset you develop to always try to give a second life to things. This is also something I learned from my parents.
Sofie: ‘And also trying to fix and preserve things, if and where possible, rather than throwing it out and buying something new. And taking better care of things you have in the first place so they last longer.’
And as you mentioned in the beginning, you are both part of Conscious Kitchen which means that you act on food as well?
Sofie: ‘I am vegetarian, always, and vegan more and more so. Last January, I embarked on the vegan challenge inspired by Conscious Kitchen because I wanted to try it out for a month to see what happens. The fact that there is vegan food at Conscious Kitchen and I am exposed to this kind of food, gives me more ideas of how I can use things. It made me more creative.’
Susanna: ‘I am not fully vegetarian. I only eat meat when I am eating out for dinner, but at home I never cook it. One thing that made it much easier for me to shift my dietary habits is that one of my flat mates is vegetarian. By eating and cooking together, I got to know so many new recipes and new things I could make. It really never crosses my mind to buy meat at a supermarket because I know the substitutes for it now: I can just eat legumes or leafy greens.’
Next to friends, does your family also influence you?
Sofie: ‘My mom is from a very small village in northwestern Bulgaria, where she grew up on a farm. They just lived off the land and had some animals. You preserve everything you have: you pickle things, you make jams, etc. All this has been the norm for me, and I have never questioned this way of life, because it is just been presented to me as: this is how we do things.’
Susanna: ‘My parents grow their own fruits and vegetables on a plot of land just outside the city they live, they would compost at home and they always eat seasonal food. So, I feel I grew up in a way that showed me how simple these things were. Actually, there are so many low tech and very basic solutions. If I think of my grandma in Italy, she already does many things in a sustainable way which makes me wonder: why do we need to think so much about technology innovation instead of simply going back and seeing what there is to value in the past.’
Last but not least, are there ways in which you currently help and inspire others to become more sustainable?
Susanna: ‘When talking about recipes and how to cook nice vegan food, check out the website of Conscious Kitchen. There are a lot of recipes there.’
Sofie: ‘Yes, and at Conscious Kitchen we also inspire people by serving them delicious vegan dishes. A lot of people are first surprised and say: ‘Oh my God, this actually tastes great!’ Because people still have misconceptions about veganism and vegetarianism. They often think: ‘What do people eat? Do you eat salad all day?’ I think it is easiest to start sharing and inspiring in your local circle, start small. Even just the one friend who always cooked in a certain way, taking them by the hand and showing them how it can be done. And igniting that spark.’
Deze blog is een onderdeel van het project Buro EU.
