Monday, May 2, 2011

what we waste.

frozen-food-dumpster

the stand-by frozen foods dumpster. this is a picture of what we did NOT take home with us. all of these cardboard boxes are full of frozen meats, strawberries, pizzas and pre-packaged processed entrees. we filled our car in two runs, filled our freezer, my parents' storage freezer, and supplied the local baptist food ministry with more frozen meat than the pastor could rightly deal with. he was greatly appreciative, all the same.

why do we waste? what makes products, materials and commodities so easily discard-able? especially when it is commonly said that so many people are in desperation?

i fear for the wellbeing of a society so unwilling to be resourceful. i fear that we are stuck in a negative cycle of consumerism, of 'sell-by' dates, of the excessive production of processed foods, and the overpowering voracity of the economy versus the human needs of the people whose paycheck it represents.

i try to avoid talking about this too loudly, but it is plain: i don't understand any of it. i am baffled by the greed, the exploitation... baffled by the waste.

2 comments:

  1. What we got before it hit the trash this week:

    6 wedges of american cheese
    2 wedges two year aged white cheddar :)
    4 whole grain bagels
    1 bag of potato rolls
    1 beautiful herbed foccacia
    1 gallon of milk
    1 dozen cookies
    far too many cakes
    kitty litter (how can that go bad?)



    Be proud of me!

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  2. god dammit! I just wrote this whole long commentary and then lost it when i was trying to post my comment. . . anyway, it was in support of what you wrote and i don't have the energy to rewrite it. bugger

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