Trader Joe's Trip
One of the most trying places for would-be plastic non-consumers is the grocery store. There seems to be no way to avoid buying the ubiquitous plastic packaging; it’s around snacks, vegetables, dairy products, drinks, almost everything you lay your eyes on. The grocery store is also one of the only places we return to on a regular basis to buy things- we’re never going to not need food. So Roger and I thought we’d diagnose the problem: we are surrounded by plastic-laden items there there ought to be plastic free ones, we are pressed by packed schedules, and we are constantly forgetting to bring those reusable bags.
Besides keeping in mind noteworthy tips like storing an emergency canvas bag in the car trunk and stocking up on reusable mesh bags for produce, it is useful to be aware of which grocery stores sell package-free items and bulk items. Since most of us don’t have the luxury of shopping at outdoor markets where vendors supply paper bags or rely on customers to bring their own food transport, we must instead rely on larger businesses, most of which are not concerned at present with reducing waste, unless doing so would maximize profits. The way our food industry is set up, however, does not make the process of avoiding plastic any easier for supermarkets. There is something to be said for lobbyists who attack the food industry and the government for not changing policies or regulating waste control. However, both of these institutions are meant to cater to us, the people who participate in them. Therefore, the power of change has always been in our hands, we have just never exercised it! Nevertheless, our options remain somewhat limited. In order to make a difference, we must go out of our ways to change our habits, this much we found inescapable during a recent trip to the grocery store.
Last week, Roger and I headed out to Trader Joe’s both to pick up some standard food items and to observe what items, if any, were sold in bulk a/o plastic free packaging. However, to the delight of my belly but the to dismay of my conscience, Trader Joe’s seems to specialize in plastic-wrapped snacky things. Even though I had come only to buy almonds and peaches (the latter of which I never bought because they were all from Guam or some other horribly distant place, but that’s another battle,) I couldn’t bring myself to buy any of the nuts - they were of course in plastic. After debating the issue for way too long in the frozen foods aisle, I decided to try another store, and put the almonds back. Now, I live quite far away from civilization, so any trip to a store larger than the Dunkie’s at the gas station is an effort. Despite my effort, I found that the second store wrapped it’s almonds in plastic too, and priced them far higher to boot. I returned to TJ’s, somewhat defeated, and bought the almonds. Baby Steps.
Even though I knew perfectly well that Trader Joe’s didn’t sell bulk items, my grocery endeavour wasn’t in the end about compiling a list of stores that do and do not endorse plastic. It may have started that way, but really this post is about two moments in the story: the moment when I put the almonds back, realizing I shouldn’t buy the plastic product, and the moment when I picked them up again, out of options. I think that this project is going to be harder than I anticipated.
Besides keeping in mind noteworthy tips like storing an emergency canvas bag in the car trunk and stocking up on reusable mesh bags for produce, it is useful to be aware of which grocery stores sell package-free items and bulk items. Since most of us don’t have the luxury of shopping at outdoor markets where vendors supply paper bags or rely on customers to bring their own food transport, we must instead rely on larger businesses, most of which are not concerned at present with reducing waste, unless doing so would maximize profits. The way our food industry is set up, however, does not make the process of avoiding plastic any easier for supermarkets. There is something to be said for lobbyists who attack the food industry and the government for not changing policies or regulating waste control. However, both of these institutions are meant to cater to us, the people who participate in them. Therefore, the power of change has always been in our hands, we have just never exercised it! Nevertheless, our options remain somewhat limited. In order to make a difference, we must go out of our ways to change our habits, this much we found inescapable during a recent trip to the grocery store.
Last week, Roger and I headed out to Trader Joe’s both to pick up some standard food items and to observe what items, if any, were sold in bulk a/o plastic free packaging. However, to the delight of my belly but the to dismay of my conscience, Trader Joe’s seems to specialize in plastic-wrapped snacky things. Even though I had come only to buy almonds and peaches (the latter of which I never bought because they were all from Guam or some other horribly distant place, but that’s another battle,) I couldn’t bring myself to buy any of the nuts - they were of course in plastic. After debating the issue for way too long in the frozen foods aisle, I decided to try another store, and put the almonds back. Now, I live quite far away from civilization, so any trip to a store larger than the Dunkie’s at the gas station is an effort. Despite my effort, I found that the second store wrapped it’s almonds in plastic too, and priced them far higher to boot. I returned to TJ’s, somewhat defeated, and bought the almonds. Baby Steps.
Even though I knew perfectly well that Trader Joe’s didn’t sell bulk items, my grocery endeavour wasn’t in the end about compiling a list of stores that do and do not endorse plastic. It may have started that way, but really this post is about two moments in the story: the moment when I put the almonds back, realizing I shouldn’t buy the plastic product, and the moment when I picked them up again, out of options. I think that this project is going to be harder than I anticipated.
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