You have acquired a lot of knowledge foryour self-experiments, which you describe in an amusing and entertaining way in your new book. A lot of what you have read, heard and seen could make you despair - how do you deal with this?
Sarah Schill: Sometimes you could actually despair. But that doesn't help anyone. That's why I always make a conscious decision to focus on what is possible, on positive developments, on initiatives and people who want to make a difference. We often focus too much on what doesn't work - or on what we think others are doing wrong. In the long run, this makes us feel powerless and narrow at heart. I try to see what I can do myself. And that's a lot.
Instead ofreceiving recognition, you always have to justify your sustainable lifestyle. Why do you think that is?
Schill: I think it attacks many people's reality when you question things or try to change them. If this were seen as a positive thing, the logical consequence would also be to rethink or even change one's own actions. This is uncomfortable, sometimes even frightening. Supposed truths and convictions also provide security. So in a way, dismissing or criticizing the whole thing protects one's own reality of life. What's more, there is a tradition of ridiculing so-called eco-friendly products, which the industry also likes to fuel. People who ask questions are less willing to buy what they are told is worth buying. On the other hand, some people who live sustainably, with a latently condescending attitude of superiority and a discontentedly raised moral finger, virtually demand that we distance ourselves from them. The more positive and undogmatic such a lifestyle is, the more I show what is beautiful and enriching about it, the less justification is needed.
Whatdo you say to the vegans of this world?
Schill: There is no such thing as "the" vegan or "the" meat eater. But I think it makes sense to think one step further than animal welfare and, in particular, the pursuit of the perfect, eternally young body. Living a vegan lifestyle and eating only imported tropical fruits and "superfoods" or high-energy, plastic-wrapped meat substitutes is, in my opinion, just as questionable as mindlessly eating animal products.
Whichdocumentary is a must-see?
Schill: Phew. There are so many good and important documentaries. For me, some of them were eye-opening:
- Taste the waste
- Plastic Planet
- The Future of Food
- More than honey
- Food Inc.
- Monsanto - with poison and genes
- Earthlings
- Blood in the mobile
- ...and many more...
Whichproject fascinated you the most?
Schill: There are so many different projects, each one exciting and inspiring in its own right. I am most inspired by projects that look beyond the concrete "small" world we live in: Valentin Thurn's "food sharing" initiative is one such project for me, because it counters the idea of permanent growth. Growth here in our country means that we live our prosperity at the expense of the world's poor. Buying more and more organic products, producing more and more "fair" fashion... will not fundamentally change the scarcity of resources and therefore the system itself. Environmental protection and animal welfare are of course important issues - but there are people who are starving, who live in war zones and who come to us as refugees. Projects that take this reality into account in some way and therefore strive for a fundamental rethink really inspire me.
Duringyour experiments, you experienced isolation and separation with friends etc. due to the different way of life. How are you doing now after your self-experiments? Has this subsided after a transition phase?
Schill: In most cases: Yes. Almost all of my friends are interested in my thoughts or insights and we discuss them a lot. With some friends or acquaintances, I don't bring up the subject because I know it won't lead to anything. And, of course, new people join in too. So all in all, it's much more enrichment than loss.
Thereare movies, newspaper articles, experiences, books that constantly remind you of the importance of taking action. How do you motivate yourself, or how do you prevent yourself from becoming inconsistent?
Schill: The biggest motivation for me is also the good feeling: regional, seasonal fruit and vegetables, for example, taste better, are good for me and increase my sense of anticipation for the seasons. Apart from that, I try to stay conscious. Sometimes I'm inconsistent - but then at least I know what I'm doing. And, of course, it helps to keep engaging in conversations, books and movies. When the topics and the people who deal with them become part of everyday life, it happens naturally to a large extent anyway.
Youquote your husband so beautifully: "What's the point of a self-experiment if it doesn't carry the possibility of failure?" After the self-experiments "1 month vegan", "1 month without plastic" and "Get active", have you made any other attempts?
Schill: There are many things that I am trying out, not as clearly defined at the moment as the aforementioned experiments perhaps, but clearly inspired by them. One - still rather vague - idea is about a joint campaign on the subject of giving up consumption. I'm also thinking about a few other topics. But they're all still too vague to talk about. Overall, I'm trying to live more and more honestly and courageously when it comes to different aspects. Not fooling myself and facing my fears or my own unwillingness to think and act uncomfortably is quite a lengthy self-experiment with many setbacks. But it is worth it.
Whatcan or must everyone change?
Schill: I have my problems with maxims for action. People live in different situations and constraints, which is why I can only start with myself and the specific reality of my life.
For me, everything starts with responsibility: a community in which people take responsibility for each other, but above all for their own thoughts and actions, in which it is not a matter of blaming others for their own misery or making their own satisfaction dependent on others. This has a lot to do with citizens' maturity, i.e. a certain social, emotional and intellectual education. Of course, it also has to do with a certain level of prosperity, a functioning healthcare system and enough to eat. Precisely because we have these prerequisites, we should do something.
We have been given such great hearts and minds - let's use them.
Sarah Schill initially studied film production in Berlin and worked on various feature and documentary film projects until she decided to devote herself to writing in 2006. Since then, she has worked as a screenwriter for cinema and TV, as well as an editor and television journalist. Out of a desire to understand certain grievances more precisely and to change something about them, she undertook various personal self-experiments on the subject of sustainability. This resulted in the non-fiction book "Anständig leben", which was published by SüdWest Verlag in spring 2014. She lives with her husband and son in Munich and Berlin.
