The Green Glance | Corporatism threatens sustainability at Vassar

Nathan Zucker Columnist

Strengthening community ties is the key to sustainability. By reducing the scale of our society and cementing our connection to the landscapes and towns in which we live, we will be able to heal the earth’s troubled ecosystems. Unfortunately, major corporations are working hard to prevent this vision from being realized, since such a revolutionary change would hurt the transnational businesses that exploit the environment for economic gain.

Corporatism, the philosophy of large, delocalized companies providing uniform services to consumers around the world, is the exact antithesis of modern environmentalism. Although Vassar has made some strides toward sustainability, the one obstacle restricting the establishment of a truly sustainable college is the presence of major corporations on campus.

Aramark, the food services provider contracted by Vassar, is one of the most visible corporations on campus. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most unsustainable. Although the company heavily advertises its local foods program, the initiative is much smaller than one would reasonably expect. Director of Dining Maureen King refused to tell me what percentage of Aramark’s food is local; this is clearly not a good sign.

In reality, it is nearly impossible for an $11 billion transnational corporation such as Aramark to invest heavily in local foods. Large companies, which are entirely devoted to increasing their bottom line, make most of their profits from the economies of scale; this means buying large quantities of products from a centralized distribution center. In the case of food, such a strategy translates into sourcing from industrial mega-farms in the Midwest and in California’s Central Valley, and then shipping the goods long distances to consumers. This process relies heavily on pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and fossil fuels, none of which are good for the environment.

Additionally, Aramark is obliged to provide and advertise other corporate products due to its lack of local connections and the need for profit. Yogurt, which could easily be sourced from New York State dairy farms, instead comes from Dannon, a French corporation whose annual profits exceed $13 million.

A company like Aramark would lose its competitive edge and enormous profits if it obtained its foods from smaller farms in the Hudson Valley. In order to start a real local foods program, the College must take control of the dining services, eliminating a corporate middleman whose only emphasis is on economic efficiency. With Vassar in charge, the sky would be the limit in supporting local farmers and providing students with New York State foods full of flavor and nutrition.

The bookstore, currently a joint venture between Vassar and Barnes & Noble, is another example of the increasing power of corporations on campus. Until 2001, the bookstore was an independent cooperative, but it then become a shared management venture between Barnes & Noble and the College in an effort to cut operating costs and expand consumer choice. Now, with the bookstore’s move to Raymond Avenue, the College is considering Barnes & Noble’s proposal for a complete takeover. This is a dubious handout to a major corporation, awarding Barnes & Noble additional space and an expanded market from which to reap larger profits.

Such a decision is unsustainable, both intellectually and environmentally. Barnes & Noble uses its size to secure favored status from publishers, putting economic pressure on local bookstores that sell the same materials. The local bookstore, once a bastion of community life and the freedom of the press, is being destroyed by this process. Furthermore, Barnes & Noble prefers to stock low-quality commercial books that sell quickly and in large volume; this hurts independent publishers whose products are higher in quality yet less popular.

Furthermore, moving the bookstore to Raymond Avenue champions a development pattern that is clearly harmful to the environment. Big-box stores and chain retailers such as Barnes & Noble are the leading cause of suburban sprawl. Sprawl destroys previously undeveloped land and necessitates increasing amounts of driving, which is heavily responsible for global warming. It also wreaks havoc on the small towns and cities that are models of sustainable living and community interaction.

Removing the bookstore from campus is a manifestation of this mentality; it is a decentralization of community resources in favor of increased profits. Our supposedly progressive college should recognize this danger and work to keep Vassar intact, avoiding the temptation to reward businesses who further suburban sprawl and promote a pernicious individualization of our culture.

When I went to the Retreat last night, the big screen TV was displaying a sequence of advertisements for the computer store’s merchandise. As I watched the various encouragements to buy Apple products, I wondered if my college were now a shopping mall, simply a paean to commercialization and the various entities that constitute corporate power. This is indeed frightening, for independent colleges were once a hallmark of community values and regionalism. If Vassar is to embrace sustainability, we must return to this ideal, shunning the corporations that threaten to overwhelm our campus and ruin our environment.

—Nathan Zucker ’10, a Latin American Studies major, is writing about environmental issues that affect both the Vassar community and the world at large.