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Coveting

Having coveted diamonds in the past and an iPhone now, reading this Guardian story on how chemicals involved in the manufacture of the Apple devices makes me wonder about the nature coveting in general. To gratify the impulse of some, many must suffer untold miseries - blood diamonds or n-hexane iPhones, it is not that different in the end.
Once you become aware of the what goes into creating the object of your desire, you have one of two ways to possess it - have it weigh on your conscience but feel incapable of resisting the urge to possess or agree to feel nonchalant about another's suffering and a little less human in the process.
I remember feeling this way about wearing glass bangles in my teens. As much as I loved them, I could not in good conscience buy or wear them. Yet, I did own several dozen, brightly colored glass bangles, succumbed to occasional temptation to buy something that caught my fancy. It was always a difficult experience always wearing them. I did not submit to the desire for diamonds.

Comments

ggop said…
First off yes I wonder why is hexane used so widely? Recently the chemical caught my eye because veggie burgers made of soy are washed in a hexane bath.

http://www.naturalnews.com/028683_soy_burgers_hexane.html

Having spoken to some of the people who travel back and forth to the factories - there is more to the story than meets the eye. In general, those factories will do their own thing. Enforcement is a challenge. Consumers will definitely be willing to pay few dollars more to ensure better conditions.

Greenpeace shamed Apple to making a greener laptop in the past. Probably its time to get them involved in this cause. And while they are at it, hope the burger manufacturers (Amy's Kitchen has taken initiative) dump hexane too.
1:24 PM
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