Overconsumption threat to ecosystem and society
The provision of information on the prices and quality of goods and services should be supplemented by a sharpening of citizens’ awareness about the impact of consumer behavior on the environment, health and the economy, consumer organization officials said this week. «The exacerbation of environmental problems necessitates not only linking consumer habits with the environment but also joint action by the social agencies involved,» the president of consumer protection organization EKPIZO president, Eleni Alevritou, told an event titled «The Threat of Overconsumption.» Coalition of the Radical Left MP Fotis Kouvelis noted that overconsumption was a cultural phenomenon that transcended classes, as human needs are biologically determined but also defined by social behavior. Economist Vassilis Ieremias compared the growth rates of the world population with those of the consumption of basic products such as oil and foodstuffs. He concluded that overconsumption will have to be curbed if humanity wishes to avoid social chaos. Other speakers dealt with the social inequalities caused on a global scale by the overconsumption of foodstuffs in developed countries.
