Archive for January, 2010

Happiness and Food

I heard part of a radio broadcast this week that made me think about how important food is to our well-being. Well, duh, obviously we all have to eat – but most of us could eat better. A LOT better! And, surprise surprise, government policies don’t necessarily support eating well.

The radio program was On Point, and host Tom Ashbrook was interviewing Michael Pollan about his new book, Food Rules. (Learn more at http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/01/michael-pollans-food-rules.)

Well into the program, a caller raised the issue of agriculture policy, and what impact the federal government has on our ability to eat what’s best for our health – and, indeed, the health of the planet. Pollan said that farmers in the Midwest who currently get subsidies to grow corn and soy would actually have to pay a fine if they wanted to grow some tomatoes, or broccoli, or other healthy plant.

Many of you reading this blog probably know a lot more about what’s wrong with our current agricultural policy. But putting the question through the prism of GNH sure clarifies the issue for me.

Thinking about agricultural policy also clarifies how far we have to go to get policymakers to use a GNH filter – so there’s no time to waste. Please, spread the word. Climb on board. Let’s get going!

Ginny Sassaman

What About Personal Happiness?

Like most of us, I’m not an economist. And I’m just beginning to understand what Gross National Happiness is really all about. So perhaps I’m sometimes bumbling in my enthusiastic attempts to explain the urgency I feel about adopting a GNH framework. Maybe that’s why the people I talk with are sometimes confused, and wonder, what does GNH have to do with individual happiness?

Fortunately, the New Economics Foundation in England, creators of the Happy Planet Index, have provided some answers. They offer the keys of individual happiness, and suggestions on how government policies can help. Excerpts from their site — http://www.neweconomics.org/projects/five-ways-well-being – follow.

The five steps that individuals can take to improve their daily lives:

1. Connect. “Social relationships are critical to our well-being. … Governments can shape policies in ways that encourage citizens to spend more time with families and friends and less time in the workplace. For example, employment policy that actively promotes flexible working and reduces the burdens of commuting, alongside policies aimed at strengthening local involvement, would enable people to spend more time at home and in their communities to build supportive and lasting relationships.”

2. Be active. “Exercise has been shown to increase mood and has been used successfully to lower rates of depression and anxiety. Being active also develops the motor skills of children and protects against cognitive decline in the elderly. … To improve our well-being, policies could support more green space to encourage exercise and play and prioritise cycling and walking over car use.”

3. Take notice. “Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you. …Policy that incorporates emotional awareness training and media education into universal education provision may better equip individuals to navigate their way through the information super-highway with their well-being intact; regulation to create advertising-free spaces could further improve well-being outcomes.”

4. Keep learning. “Learning encourages social interaction and increases self-esteem and feelings of competency. … While there is often a much greater policy emphasis on learning in the early years of life, psychological research suggests it is a critical aspect of day-to-day living for all age groups. Therefore, policies that encourage learning, even in the elderly, will enable individuals to develop new skills, strengthen social networks and feel more able to deal with life’s challenges.”

5. Give. Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. … Studies in neuroscience have shown that cooperative behaviour activates reward areas of the brain, suggesting we are hard wired to enjoy helping one another. … But it is not simply about a one-way transaction of giving. Research by NEF shows that building reciprocity and mutual exchange – through giving and receiving – is the simplest and most fundamental way of building trust between people and creating positive social relationships and resilient communities. Governments can choose to invest more in ‘the core economy’: the family, neighbourhood and community which, together, act as the operating system of society. Policies that provide accessible, enjoyable and rewarding ways of participation and exchange will enable more individuals to take part in social and political life.”

Here in the states, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof picked up on this last point in a column entitled, “Our Basic Human Pleasures: Food, Sex and Giving.” (See http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/opinion/17kristof.html)

He refers to UVA psychology professor Jonathan Haidt’s book, The Happiness Hypothesis. Kristof writes, “ ‘Human beings are in some ways like bees,’ Professor Haidt said. ‘We evolved to live in intensely social groups, and we don’t do as well when freed from hives.’ … Professor Haidt notes that one thing that can make a lasting difference to your contentment is to work with others on a cause larger than yourself.”

Like the NEF website, Kristof refererences neuroscience: “Brain scans by neuroscientists confirm that altruism carries its own rewards. A team including Dr. Jorge Moll of the National Institutes of Health found that when a research subject was encouraged to think of giving money to a charity, parts of the brain lit up that are normally associated with selfish pleasures like eating or sex.”

The implication is that we are hard-wired to be altruistic. To put it another way, it’s difficult for humans to be truly selfless, for generosity feels so good. …

So at a time of vast needs, from Haiti to our own cities, here’s a nice opportunity for symbiosis: so many afflicted people, and so much benefit to us if we try to help them. Let’s remember that while charity has a mixed record helping others, it has an almost perfect record of helping ourselves. Helping others may be as primal a human pleasure as food or sex.”

Just imagine the policy implications!

Ginny Sassaman

“Doing More, Spending Less”

That’s what New York Times Damien Cave reports many Americans are now doing (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/business/economy/03experience.html).

Cave writes, “Quietly but noticeably over the past year, Americans have rejiggered their lives to elevate experiences over things.  Because of the Great Recession, a recent New York Times/CBS poll has found, nearly half of Americans said they were spending less time buying nonessentials, and more than half are spending less money in stores and online.

 “But Americans are not just getting by with less.  They are also doing more.

 “Some are working longer hours, but a larger proportion, the poll shows, are spending additional time with family and friends, gardening, cooking, reading, watching television and engaging in other hobbies.”

  Cave cites evidence such as a Department of Labor survey that shows, “compared with 2005, Americans spent less time in 2008 buying goods and services and more time cooking or taking part in ‘organizational, civic and religious activities.’” Even the Walt Disney Company has experienced a drop in product sales but “a three percent increase in visitors last quarter.”

 Obviously this isn’t all good news.  Cave notes, for example, that retailers are hurting.  And the change may or may not be transformational.  But for the moment, this is a promising trend.  As Cave reports, “Psychologists have been saying for years that shared experiences like vacations lead to more long-term happiness.”  Cave’s interviewees seem to back that up, saying things such as “’Now I am having fun working on projects around the house, even if it’s just pulling weeds or taking my dog, Amos, for a long walk.’”

 I find this article very encouraging.  First, it illustrates the adaptability of the American people.  Give them a lemon – far less spending money – and many (not all) turn it into lemonade.  Second, it is another example of the old cliché about necessity mothering invention.  Necessity is breathing down our necks, and we need some really big inventions, but Cave’s reporting shows a widespread cultural capacity for moving toward solutions that can, in fact, lead to much more long term national happiness.  The time is clearly right for the GNH movement to take hold, and take off.

by Ginny Sassaman

Facebook has an experimental graphical model display for what they are calling Gross National Happiness, which is based upon an analysis of the frequency of the appearance of selected keywords in Daily Posts to Facebook. It is a new way to take the pulse of the universe of Facebook users as a metric.  See the Huffington Post article. See the prototype on Facebook.