Feeling guilty?
Guilt, guilt, guilt. It follows us everywhere.
You could feel guilty about anything, but to make matters worse, we live in a world that is crumbling around us, and we feel hopeless.
Sometimes the feeling of guilt is an important mechanism to guide us in the right moral direction; sometimes, it unnecessarily takes over our every thought.
Food often sparks feelings of guilt for all kinds of reasons. Eating the whole bar of chocolate when you only wanted one piece, eating fish after watching a documentary about overfishing or gorging on some cheese when you know it’s not the right environmental decision.
What’s the guilty feeling?
We all know that feeling of guilt, when worry or unhappiness creeps in because you’ve done something wrong. When feelings of guilt arise, we might try to avoid them or get rid of them; maybe we look for forgiveness or take responsibility. It’s an uncomfortable feeling, but it has a purpose. Guilt helps us develop, allowing us to recognise where we’ve gone wrong and push us to rectify it (Psychology Today. 2013). However, guilt can lead to the less helpful and more painful feeling of shame and enforce anxiousness.
Environmental guilt
When it comes to the doom and gloom of climate change, the list of guilt triggers is endless.
A little bit of guilt here and there might help us make a more environmentally conscious decision. However, it often goes far beyond that, leading to anxiety and excessive worrying about the future. In the UK, 27% of people are extremely worried about the climate, increasing to 45% among young people (Euronews. 2019); undoubtedly prompted by the feeling of being the tiniest clog in an enormous wheel, rolling uncontrollably towards disaster. It makes your actions feel meaningless, yet you’re riddled with guilt if you forget the reusable bags or turn the heating up during the winter.
Of course, we should all be doing our bit for the planet, but we need to take the pressure off. Driving ourselves into a state of environmental anxiety is no help to our mental health or the planet. It’s important not to beat yourself up if you had to take the car instead of cycling one day or threw away some food that you’d forgotten about, instead focus on all the other ways you are making a difference. One big way to make that difference is through food choices; the conscious effort to opt for a diet that avoids animals can help keep a clear conscience that you’re doing your bit.
Milk guilt
But which milk do I choose?
You stopped drinking cow’s milk because you felt guilty about the environmental impact, which led to almond milk that turns out to use large amounts of water, so then you switched to soya milk, but now you feel guilty about potential deforestation and the plantation of monocultures. It’s like every corner you turn; another barrier appears. Making the ‘right’ decision has become more challenging than ever.
Cellular agriculture might be the solution. Resisting the temptation of cheese or ice cream is no easy task, but it can leave an unpleasant aftertaste of guilt. However, Real Deal Milk products can lift those uncomfortable feelings by knowing that the products you’re purchasing and consuming have a far lower environmental impact than cow’s milk, and no cows were harmed in the process. As individuals, making these small decisions helps lift our environmental guilt whilst enjoying foods as they’re meant to be enjoyed.
It’s normal to feel worried about the environment and our future. It’s easy for these feelings to push you into experiencing guilt or shame due to your life decisions. But your individual efforts are meaningful, they do have an impact, and you should give yourself credit. Choosing Real Deal Milk gives you the best of both worlds, being able to enjoy all your favourite dairy products without the side of guilt. So this time, you don’t have to compromise in order to make the ‘right’ environmental decision.
References
Euronews. 2019. Climate change sparks new levels of concern and eco-anxiety in Britons. https://www.euronews.com/green/2019/06/06/you-gov-climate-change-new-levels-of-concern-eco-anxiety-britons
Psychology Today. 2013. What makes us feel guilty? https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-couch/201308/what-makes-us-feel-guilty
