Consumption is a condition of life on earth. Plants combine light, carbon dioxide, water, and minerals to survive. Animals eat plants and other animals. Unlike plants and other animals, however, humans have a measure of choice about what and how much they consume-a choice related to their class and their society's level of economic development. Rich, well-organized people have more choices than do poor, unorganized people. Research on consumption and activism have tended to ignore this "consumption problem," though