Like most things we discuss on this blog and in class, I have never given food a second thought on the environmental level. I mean, I thought the worst that could happen was that we stress the land trying to grow too many vegetables. Man, was I wrong! Hitherto, grocery shopping was an delicate step by step process.

1. What can I get away with throwing on top of lettuce that will still qualify it as a salad? French Fries, check!
2. Of the brands provided, which frozen bag boasts the least calories?
3. Of the lower calorie ones, which is cheapest?
4. Oh! I forgot! I have a 'buy two get one free' coupon for the really fattening kind, I'll buy those instead!

Then I'm really lazy, so to ensure that I don't just eat the french fries alone, I purchase the prechopped, prebagged Giant brand lettuce that you just have to pour into a bowl, no work needed. Then I buy some oranges, bananas, apples and the like. (How I miss tdr when you could steal them!) The point is, the environment never enters as a factor and I cringe when I think, 'Really? do I have to shop at Whole Foods now? That's sooo expensive, and the old women who shop there are really snooty.

But then I think, I eat oranges and pineapple all the time. a truck, the kind you get stuck behind on the highway and roll your windows up for, had to lug this fruit half way cross the country just to get to me. And these french fries had to be bagged in a factory with a special kind of plastic that can go into the freezer. And who knows where this lettuce came from, but it wasn't the organic section! I'm basically learning that I suck as a consumer. But in all honesty, being environmentally aware is a privilege not all people can afford. Whole Foods we know is much more expensive than the average grocery store, and many families can't afford the prices or the time it takes to drive out to a farmer's market. A single mother working two jobs isn't going to come home and peel fresh carrots and steam them with freshly chopped brocolli and hand mashed potatoes. She's going to pop a bag out of the freezer and have a cheap dinner for four on the table in minutes. The mom that can afford to stay home all day can afford to stroll through Whole Foods and pour organic milk into her children's morning Kashi. So I don't think that it's a viable solution to have consumers make better choices, I think that it's up to the grocers to make more environmentally safe foods more available and at lower prices.