How did progress lead us to backwardness?
How did progress lead us to backwardness?
Life in Upper Egypt – where I lived and grew up – was simple and quiet, which was very clear in the last century, and this was also the case in Cairo and Lower Egypt. But the tremendous progress that the world – and Egypt, by extension – has witnessed in recent decades has led – by extension – to a sharp change in our consumption patterns.
Despite the solutions that this cultural and technical progress provides that facilitate our lives and support our growth; We can now see – clearly – that this progress has carried with it a delay in our behaviors and customs in terms of preserving the environment and achieving sustainable development.
Bad consumption patterns
Some of us lived to see this shift in behaviors and customs, and others did not – perhaps – see the past except through classic films and series, which can present – in one way or another – the most prominent features of our way of life in the past.
Examples of the shift in behavior related to progress are many. Previously, vegetables and fruits were only sold in paper bags, and drinks and medicines were only sold in glass containers, and we did not drink or eat except from metal or ceramic utensils. All of the above changed completely after plastic.
In the blink of an eye, we turned to using plastic extensively, as it was used in the manufacture of soda bottles, the fibers from which clothes are made, and tableware – of course – in addition to yogurt and milk containers, and other uses.
Not only plastic, but there are many examples of these consumer transformations, including: fast fashion, complete dependence on air conditioning devices, and changing electronic devices from time to time, even when there is no need. This voracious consumption pattern necessarily led to an increase in production rates. To keep pace with the increasing demand for various products, not to mention the steady increase in population.
The inevitable result of the above is the consumption of huge amounts of fossil fuels; To meet the energy needs of the industrial and service sectors, we find ourselves facing an existential threat represented by global warming and climate change.
Takeaway Culture
In recent years, Egypt – like other countries – has faced a widespread shift in food and drink consumption patterns, especially after the emergence of social media, which has helped spread completely unhealthy consumption methods. This transformation is nothing but a reflection of what the whole world is witnessing in terms of trade liberalization and the abolition of borders and barriers. Therefore, some people – due to this transformation and the increased speed of life – seek to change their eating behaviors, the most prominent of which is reliance on fast food, which has necessarily led to major problems in public health, and adding a hugecarbon footprint.
If we looked at the Egyptian countryside – for example – we would find it to be a society based on strong family relationships, but with the migration of its population to urban areas, and the emergence of tools that would promote the culture of other societies. Many rural people have become inclined to follow consumption patterns that are not good and strange to their nature.
What I want to emphasize in this article is that consumer practices – in the past – were closer to preserving the environment and more reliable in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Food, drink, or plastic materials are not the only example of this strange transformation, but rather they are the most prominent examples in our daily lives.
