In past years, I’ve given up coffee. Caffeine. Beer. Alcohol.
This year, I wanted something different (although I was leaning towards beer again. As a brewer, it’s a poignant deprivation). My wife came up with one for the family: no restaurants. That’s not a huge one, except for our snack runs at Timmy’s. And giving up restaurants means relinquishing support for intensive agricultural operations, at least for a time.
Somehow, it lead me to my personal revelation: giving up eating anything that comes in plastic packaging. Unless I make queso blanco, this means no cheese, my main lunch staple, along with home-made bread and – oops, apples, usually packaged in plastic bags. So this morning I boiled an egg (from my hens), and planned to make egg salad for a sandwich – till my wife pointed out the mayo was in a plastic jar. Hard-boiled egg, bread with butter, and clemetines, here I come. (Breakfast was easy – toast from home-made bread, butter, and jam from a glass jar. No plastics there).
And it’s got both me and my better half thinking about avoiding plastic packaging. I refused dessert tonight because the home-baked cookies had margarine (from a plastic tub) as an ingredient. My wife bought loose apples at the grocery store. And now we’re planning on trying to take containers from home to stores to buy things like cheese and bulk goods. It’ll be an interesting foray.
Just in case someone asks “why plastic?” It’s an oil-derived product, which supports the petrochemical industry; it biodegrades very slowly, at best (although there’s progress on breaking plastics back down to oil, thanks to Akinori Ito and others); it’s waste; and a significant fraction of it ends up in the ocean, collecting in the gyres. Nasty stuff that we (and quite a few other plants and animals) could do without.
This is a super idea and I wish I were organized enough to do it myself. It’s actually harder than it even sounds – so many things are packaged in plastic these days. I’m just thinking about the things I buy each week: bread (I could make), milk, cheese (I think even buying from Stephane, the stuff starts in plastic and he cuts and re-wraps in paper…will have to check), yogurt… It’s probably easier to list the things that don’t come wrapped in plastic.
Yes, that’s why I’m keen on trying the “bring my own container” approach, and see what response it gets. Think I’ll phone first.
On the practicality front, DW has already brought in a grandfathering clause – if it was in the house before lent started, I’m supposed to be allowed to eat it. Something about her not being able to eat a bag of Russett potatoes all by herself
Thanks for the comment!
Well, ya know if DW needs help to eat potato chips….I’m just around the corner.
Think the grandfathering clause is great.
Have a great March Break, guys!
[...] 1, 2011 by ajrorabeck in Uncategorized 0 So I managed – for the most part – to go plastic free for lent. We didn’t sub out plastic-bagged milk for milk cartons, because of cost, so every [...]