We see a relatively small section of the world during our daily lives. We eat, drink, move and consume goods and services in places that are familiar to us. In the middle of this daily life, it can be difficult to think about what life is like in different parts of the world and how our lives are determined by the things we do and use from day to day.

Europeans belong to the quarter of the world's population that owns three quarters of the planet's total wealth. Most of the people on the planet are significantly more poor than we are. The poorest quarter of the planet's population owns only two percent of its total wealth. Therefore, the things that we see as our standard quality of living is actually far above the norm when thinking about the question on a global scale.

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The quality of life on planet Earth.

The products we consume contain many problems, most of which are invisible to us. They can be produced in conditions that are detrimental to the environment and to the health of the workers who make them. The workers who produce our goods can be underpaid, and their jobs can even make them suffer slavery-like conditions. Child labor is also used in some parts of the world. The ecological baggage of our goods can be heavy, which means that their production has used up large amounts of natural resources and energy. Even the food we eat can come at a great cost to the environment — especially if it is mostly animal-based and produced far away from us.

The world will not become a better place if we do not change it ourselves. That is why each of us needs to understand what the world is like and how our actions affect it. Even when political decision-making is slow and inefficient, we can still have an effect as responsible consumers.

Do we know where the goods we consume come from?