What The Lion King Teaches Us About Climate Change

The lessons that we learned in childhood that we need to begin implementing in our daily lives.

Courtney Hufsmith (21)
October 10, 2020

Recently, I watched Disney’s remade 2019 version of The Lion King. I am very familiar with the narrative, having watched the 1994 film many times throughout my childhood. However, until this time around, I had never acknowledged how the lessons in the movie can be actualized concerning climate change.

The underlying message teaches us that we should not disrupt the balance of nature by over-hunting. This contradicts the very nature that is Western society; built upon capitalism, in seek of profit-motives and lacking in the foundations of equality, sharing, and balance.

In The Lion King, Scar symbolizes businesses that prioritize profit above all else, without regard to their impact on the environment. Under this type of authority, the kingdom decays and becomes a wasteland brought on by greedy over-hunting, as the rest of the lions turn a blind eye. When Simba returns, the lions come together and reclaim the balance of nature by overthrowing the king (Scar) and implementing the values of equality, sharing, and balance. They take what they need and never more and in doing so, the kingdom flourishes through the circle of life.

The question that we should be asking ourselves is how to restructure our society in a manner that is sustainable for future generations. The answer lies at the hands of consumers.

Here are some of the steps that I have begun to take to become a more conscientious consumer:

1. Becoming aware of the businesses that I support, in terms of their mission, vision, and values; while considering the purchases that I make and distinguishing among “needs” and “wants”.
2. Educating myself through reputable books, documentaries, and news sources, to develop a better understanding of our society and climate change.
3. Eating more plant-based with the principle of taking what I need and never more. Restoring biodiversity is a key naturistic way of reducing climate change. Our societies have largely over-farmed and over-hunted the world. Incorporating plant-based meals and viewing meat as a rare luxury is one of the key methods for achieving sustainability.
4. Supporting local and creating/using recipes that leverage our abundance of home-grown resources, as opposed to imported products that require thousands of miles in transport to reach my dinner table.

Ultimately, our capitalistic structured society will never change so long as there is consumer demand to meet unsustainable supply. For our society to restore the balance of nature, much like in The Lion King, we need to collectively become more conscientious consumers.

Climate change solutions begin with every one of us, making small steps towards a brighter future.