tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5038491728148717534.post2494372130904623085..comments2023-05-13T00:37:54.017-07:00Comments on radar hill: frozen foods have gone too farBrian Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11166026405617338252noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5038491728148717534.post-70692631887422969962008-02-26T11:32:00.000-08:002008-02-26T11:32:00.000-08:00a little bird... i said in my response to kearney ...a little bird... i said in my response to kearney that i use way too many paper towels - it's no secret.<BR/><BR/>good for you & alex! kristin & i haven't gone that far, yet.<BR/><BR/>i was telling kearney that casa uses cloth napkins, a compost pile for left over foods, & even their urinals recycle your pee!Brian Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11166026405617338252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5038491728148717534.post-65942236383963845792008-02-26T11:00:00.000-08:002008-02-26T11:00:00.000-08:00i'd like to point out that alex and i are kearney'...i'd like to point out that alex and i are kearney's "couple friends" who have stopped using paper towels altogether and use cloth napkins/rags for all clean up and eating purposes.<BR/><BR/>i heard from a little bird that someone made a recent trip to Costo to stock up on paper towels....hmmm.<BR/><BR/>anyway, lots of good points made by both kearney and trevor. you guys are so smart :-)Erynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14338920250971519325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5038491728148717534.post-64512065705282919342008-02-26T06:40:00.000-08:002008-02-26T06:40:00.000-08:00i agree with so many of your points kearney. insta...i agree with so many of your points kearney. instant gratification is a BIG part of the problem. do you consider instant gratification & laziness as the same thing? no doubt that cloth napkins as you noted are much better for the environment. i for one waste way to many paper towels both at home & at the office. i wonder if i do it out of laziness or the need for instant gratification though... in both cases the cloth napkin & the paper towel serve the immediate purpose (dry up the sink, wipe my face, etc.). it's the need to wash/dry this napkin after i'm done using it that the laziness factor comes into play. so again i ask - is it laziness or instant gratification to blame?Brian Kirkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11166026405617338252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5038491728148717534.post-37848704564136068782008-02-25T22:47:00.000-08:002008-02-25T22:47:00.000-08:00I think a lot of the people who shop at whole food...I think a lot of the people who shop at whole foods are trying to feel good, by over compensating for things in their lives that they are doing wrong. These are the people who want to feel good eating so they don't have to exercise; feel good about not using plastic bags being told their helping save the environment. If the shopper recycles plastic bags, no harm is being done to the environment. Just like if the shopper buys a cloth bag, and then throws that bag away when an egg breaks instead of washing the bag, how is that any different?<BR/><BR/>so, I agree with you, to much trash is being produced, and because recycling is not easy (as I'm finding out in the office) as throwing items in the trash can, there's no incentive to use less. Everything has become about convenience. And everyone is seeking "instant gratification". Which is why the demand for fast food, and individual peanut butter packages is so prevalent. <BR/><BR/>when I buy frozen vegetables, I chose the ones which come in paper cartons. Why? well, first, it doesn't take me 5 minutes to figure out how to open them. and second, I can throw the container into my paper recycling pile.<BR/><BR/>If everyone took time out to try and be more patient and efficient, we would have a lot cleaner America. Case and point: I know a couple who stopped using paper towels. Think of how much money and waste is generated via paper towels. I try to recycle mine, but sometimes I just throw them away. But, by buying cloth napkins, I no longer need paper towels. Cloth napkins are reusable, washable, and produce no waste.<BR/><BR/>I doubt package design is urban design issues. I attribute the packaging to companies wanting to keep food meant to last a week, tops, edible for a month. And also to the fact that those frozen containers are plates. After eating from a container, there's nothing to wash, just pitch it. Again, it goes back to instant gratification. And the sad part: people are willing to pay exorbitant amounts for instant gratification.<BR/><BR/>So is Whole Foods to blame for creating more trash? Or is it the consumer who desires convenience above all else the one to blame?<BR/><BR/>I think back to what my friend from East Germany said when I asked him about if East Berlin was cleaner under democracy or communism. He told me, "There wasn't any trash in our country during the GDR because we didn't have anything to throw away." <BR/><BR/>So is the solution to lessing trash to deny everyone of items which produce trash?kearneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06013656309883058441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5038491728148717534.post-4380401795683425632008-02-25T21:16:00.000-08:002008-02-25T21:16:00.000-08:00you know what i think a good alternative to all th...you know what i think a good alternative to all this packaging is? better urban design. done going out at night in mexico city? or taipei? or amsterdam? plenty of food from street vendors. everywhere. some of it's crap. some it's damn good. but here? not so much. so why the difference? i'm pretty sure the market for *food* is the same everywhere. the difference is whether you can *walk* to get it. cities before cars let you walk. and all sorts of local food stuff springs up. cities after cars make walking hard. and fast food (and packaged) foods result. urban design is responsible for everything. absolutely everything.Trevor Bačahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04260584615084330979noreply@blogger.com