The Poetry of BusinessAtul K. Shah

Green Business

We are a green company,Very environment friendly.Every morning we say:

Hi to Nature,And go to workIn our big cars.

At work,We recycle all our waste,

And preach about,Green-liness.It matters not

How much waste we generate,So long as,

We recycle it.We take pride in our colour,

And market it,Continuously.All our staff

Buy ready-made food,And employ gardeners,

To contact natureOn their behalf.

Our executives are too busyPainting everything green,

To have time for a country walk,Or a swim in the sea.

Our products are in great demand,And they all carry a green logo.They may not be perfectly green,

But they sure are profitable.We try to be green,

Without getting our hands,Too dirty.

It is much easier and profitableTo influence your perception,

Than to change,Our true colours.

Yes we are a green company,Very environment friendly.

Please respect our camouflage,And don't question too deeply,

Our greed-liness.

190 # Atul K. Shah, 1999

Volume 8 Number 3 July 1999

Agri-Business

A farmerUsed to plough the land,

Plant the crop,And harvest it.

She tamed the land,Preserved its beauty,And fed the nation.

But one day,A businessman,Became a farmer,And used profit,

To feed the public.The land is now barren,And crops are generated,

In the factory.It is called Agree(d) business.

Prophit plants the seeds,Prophit harvests the food,

And Prophit super-markets it.Prophit decides what is grown,Prophit guards our nutrition,

And Prophit manufactures our food.Man-u-fractureOur environmentWith your Prophit.

You now tell childrenThat food is grown in super-markets,

And meat has nothing to doWith killing.

Ready-made meals are a treat.They save time and money,

And destroy cooking,And the family.

Do we not realise,What we are doing to our land,

Our food and our health?What use is profitWhen we fall sick,

Or betray our children?Lets take business

Out of food,And bring back the farmer

To help us re-connect with nature.Lets genetically engineer

Businessmen,To quitFarming!

Business Ethics: AEuropean Review

191# Atul K. Shah, 1999