What is it about Melbourne Cup that 'stops a nation'? For starters, when the actual and digital 'loud speakers' in our lives tell us often enough that everyone else is acting in a certain way, we start to think it's normal. Up until now, it's been positively un-Australia to question anything that is sacred about Melbourne cup, but times are changing as the dark underbelly of parts of the industry are exposed. There's way more to come and it isn't just about horses.If you are going to the cup or a lunch, Melbourne cup is about being seen and in the latest - dress, hair, shoes; drinking champagne and having a jolly good time. A flutter, a sweep, a win or loss and the day off. The irony is that the horses rate, but more as a passing interest for one big bet. They are really just the medium for a good time rather than the actual point of the good time. Seriously - you party for hours and the main race lasts a few minutes.The reality of Melbourne Cup is that it's an economic kick starter for huge chunks of the economy. Fashion, beauty, alcohol, food, gambling, transport, security, racing. And if you are the kind of person who worries about the mindless use of our earth's resources, the Cup surely mobilises one of our greatest beacons of waste, possibly even bigger than Christmas.Groups like Nup for the Cup, started by the 'Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses' stages the Human Races and Farshuns on the Field near Flemington at Newmarket Reserve in Melbourne years ago. Numbers in attendance have been steadily growing year on year with 1,000 already saying they are interested in this year's event. Rejecting the celebration of the cup isn't a new thing, especially among animal rights activists, but what is new is the cut through that activists, alternate parties and the treatment of retired horses is finally getting. And it's important that we understand what our money and attention is really invested in.It is also important to understand that horses are just the beginning of a difficult conversation about wastefulness in general, but particularly the kind of waste on steroids that events like this create. The magnitude of the waste across fashion, beauty, alcohol, food, gambling, transport, security, racing defies imagination.This year, if you choose to celebrate, please think about how you go about it. If you are going to a Nup or a Yup for the Cup this year, I am not suggesting you wear a straw hat, but please wear something you already own, ride-share to events and don't spill your champagne! If you do buy something new, buy something you will use again and again.