tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924313029169385920.post844793315678434030..comments2022-10-18T14:12:31.996-04:00Comments on cathleen's place: Shouting from my soapbox: Too much plasticUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924313029169385920.post-74727640716241389372008-01-13T15:55:00.000-05:002008-01-13T15:55:00.000-05:00Consuming out of plastic containers is also a heal...Consuming out of plastic containers is also a health hazard, it turns out. Certain plastics (#3, and #7) are known to leach the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A, which mimics estrogen and causes hormone disruption and other related problems. Another reason to avoid plastic water bottles, for one thing.Slaydehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11295558645545857623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924313029169385920.post-17652457218232612522008-01-12T14:14:00.000-05:002008-01-12T14:14:00.000-05:00It's almost overwhelming to open the refrigerator ...It's almost overwhelming to open the refrigerator door or look in the pantry, and see how much of our food is packaged in plastic! Yogurt, milk, cheese; what to do?? I agree, use canvas bags and i will make small cotton ones to use for vegies, but what about the dairy foods?? Any ideas?? Co-ops where you can refill your own glass jars are an option in some parts of the country for some things , but not all. And that's just foodstuffs! Take a good look around your homes! <BR/>Let's start paying attention to our plastic waste!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924313029169385920.post-39514931863254389662008-01-11T13:36:00.000-05:002008-01-11T13:36:00.000-05:00Melissa,Not only is it NOT too much, I think it mi...Melissa,<BR/>Not only is it NOT too much, I think it might NOT BE ENOUGH! Thanks for joining in the shout. The more the merrier.<BR/>I will get Alice Water's book -- I was meaning to anyway from all you've written about it.<BR/><BR/>By the way, speaking of bulk, back in the '70's there were coops (not the apartment kind, the food kind) where you could bring your own containers and fill them with beans, mayo, almond butter, etc., re-using the containers over and over. There might be something like that in Portland -- it's a certainty there's nothing like that here. omg.Cathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13908759284576826834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924313029169385920.post-71708055219373266332008-01-11T12:24:00.000-05:002008-01-11T12:24:00.000-05:00Oh, two more cheap tips -- the bulk food aisle is ...Oh, two more cheap tips -- the bulk food aisle is your friend, and there's less packaging. And cooking things from scratch is also so much cheaper and better for the environment. Alice Waters's new cookbook, Art of Simple food has a great recipe for homemade noodles, and Cooks Illustrated is a great resource for all food, including the pizza dough we make on a weekly basis. So much better than buying it and spending money on ingredients I already have. If you think you don't have time for this, just time yourself going out over and over and over for food, vs being at home and making it from what you have. It's about the same. And food from home tastes better, is better for you and is CHEAPER!<BR/><BR/>I'll step off my soap box now. Thank you for letting me use your blog this way. Or, delete this if you think it's too much.<BR/><BR/>XOMLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924313029169385920.post-38131448873125350292008-01-11T12:12:00.000-05:002008-01-11T12:12:00.000-05:00May I comment from the cheapskate's point of view?...May I comment from the cheapskate's point of view? I am so cheap. When we bought our house in Portland and I started having to pay for garbage and water, I was shocked by our misuse. Can you believe, our first month here, we were putting out two garbage cans? When I got the first garbage bill and it was for twice what we had expected (two cans, twice as much) I went out and bought cloth napkins, these cool rags from Trader Joe's that absorb three times their weight and we started using our dishtowels. We're off paper towels and recycle what we can -- thank god beer comes in glass bottles. <BR/><BR/>Also, most grocery stores offer a few cents back when you use your own bags. I reuse the brown paper bags we got when we first moved here. I don't have canvas ones, but the paper bags still work fine. And they were free. At New Seasons, they always forget to give me my discount, but I stand there and wait for it because I want my thirty cents!<BR/><BR/>New Seasons also has a guide in their seafood section for each fish and how sustainably it was caught. <BR/><BR/>Remember too that Americans throw out 30% of the food we buy. How scary! Eating at home and eating everything in your fridge each week is a good start. By Sunday we're having a Spanish tortilla with the remnants of veggies and whatever I can find. Pasta and soup are also great 'kitchen sink' meals. <BR/><BR/>My two cents. Oh, and now we're down to half a can.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com