Everyday care
Regrowing celery and keeping lettuce in water so it lasts a bit longer will not stop ecological degradation. What will do something about it is care and love manifested in every domain of society, on every level, in every system. Our systems and policies need to be based on care and love towards humans, non-humans and nature. Considering the scale of the necessary change, of course regrowing celery feels like nothing. I think care needs to be not only felt but also practised intentionally. The way it is practised partly depends on one's position in society, i.e., where one has a say or power to act. For example, as an academic, I can choose how I deliver my lectures, how I supervise my students. We can exercise care by choosing mindfully who we vote for, what systems we reproduce. But very small-scale, everyday acts of care are also important and meaningful. In my personal life, these acts include caring about the amount electricity I use, making sure I don't generate food waste and minimise other forms of waste, using ingredients that are safe for ecosystems, contemplating my practices and where improvements can be made, reflecting on how I relate with my fellow humans and non-humans, etc.