I’m noticing changes. Changes in the grocery store, changes in my behavior, changes in my conversations with others- all good signs that things are greening up around here. This week, I went to the same grocery store as always. But this time, the name brand chicken that takes up most of the cooler space now has new packaging that says, “vegetarian fed,” and “cage-free.” So maybe what we buy at the grocery store CAN make a difference in what the company chooses to sell. Maybe that chicken will eventually be the only chicken they sell, because it is all that people will buy. My grocery-store-management friend says that that’s true…he says they don’t care what it is, they just want people to buy it. If it’s organic that people will buy, then that is what they will sell. If it’s Ho Ho’s and Twinkies that we buy, then that is what they will sell.
I had an extended conversation recently with this friend who is in management at a major grocery store chain. I am always interested in his perspective, because of his grocery background. The conversation started out about high fructose corn syrup and ended up, shall we say, a rather loud, spirited discussion/debate. This conversation started at a party, after I had a enjoyed a large, strong, blue, delicious adult beverage, and was in front of a group of other partygoers. Needless to say, it was not the calm, reasoned, well-thought-out discussion I would have preferred to have, and I worried later that I’m turning into “that girl” who annoys everyone at parties with her green crap. However, I love a good (respectful) debate and I decided that it was great that the party had a substantive discussion. Maybe someone learned something, or at least went home and googled “high fructose corn syrup.” It’s not like I was talking politics or religion. No matter your politics or religion, we should all care about the environment.
Lastly, I realized this past weekend that we are now vacation recyclers! Recycling is such a habit for us now, such a part of everyday life that we can’t not do it. We were in the mountains, and there at the dump, where we have to take our trash, is also a recycling center, so they make it easy. Don’t you just love the mountains? I’ve also been bringing recyclable trash home with me from events that don’t have a recycling container. It’s easy. I think that easy is the key, and also making green habits a part of your day-to-day, like a reflex, that you don’t even consciously think about. You just do.
Random but from the Heart Shout-Out:
Kudos to Five Guys for having the best fast food burger! Zagat’s 2010 survey polled over 7000 Americans, and let’s face it, there’s little that Americans know better than fast food burgers. I was not among the 7000, but if I were, I would definitely have voted for Five Guys! The little cheeseburger, with ketchup, mustard, grilled onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles, with a side of fries shared amongst the family…the messiest, drippiest, most-embarrassing-to-eat-in-front-of-anyone-outside-your-immediate-family, tastiest burger around! Way to go, guys, all 5 of ya! For more on the story: http://www.tonic.com/article/five-guys-burgers-is-rated-the-best-burger-in-america-zagat/
Hope you all are seeing positive changes where you live. Let me know what is going on in your part of the world.
Take care of yourselves and each other,
Katie
“Don’t you know they change
Oh, things change
As long as this world is turning
Things are gonna change
Gonna keep on changing
Gonna change” -Things Change, Tim McGraw
*Check out my cousin Michael Dunaway’s film, The Man Who Ate New Orleans: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/conversation-ray-cannata-eats-restaurant-orleans/story?id=11410066
