Raj Patel spoke today on CBC Radio’s The Current about his new book, The Value of Nothing,in which he proposes – and finds ample evidence to support – that our culture of cheap stuff is costing us plenty. Just not at the cash register. He asserts that we are, in fact, paying for the cheap burger at the drive-thru or the great deal on the t-shirt. In some cases, it’s developing countries who are stuck with the cost, in the form of environmental degradation, poverty from low wages and health costs. But in many way, we’re also paying the price. Through our own subsidized health-care costs (from eating crappy food and breathing crappy air) and social assistance from helping support minimum wage workers (think Wal-Mart. Think McDonald’s).

It can’t get much clearer that our present way of doing things – buying up mass quantities of cheap food and cheap stuff – isn’t making us happier or healthier. As Michael Pollan reported on Oprah, it used to be that health care costs were low and food costs were, relatively speaking, high. Now it’s the opposite. So while we don’t pay a lot upfront for food, we certainly pay down the road, in terms of treating illnesses like heart disease and diabetes, which have skyrocketed since the advent of cheap food.

I offer up an easy suggestion in The Virtuous Consumer. When you consider buying something, I proposed, ask yourself a few questions:
•what is the item made from?
•how was it made?
•who made it?
•how far was it transported to me?
•how long – and how often – will I use it?
•and what will I do with it when I’m done?

The answers aren’t readily apparent, but simply asking the questions will alter the way you shop…for the better.