A Plastic World

Something has been weighing heavy on my mind. I’ve always been concerned about the state of the environment but since babies I’ve been doubly concerned. And, unfortunately, I’m seeing first hand how easy it is to make the wrong choices and how much my family is impacting things negatively.

I saw a post on Facebook by one of our fellow black belts regarding plastic kids toys. It mentioned that every plastic toy ever made ever is currently sitting in a landfill. That’s insane. Then I look at our living room and realize exactly how much plastic has accumulated in the form of toys. And that all of that will be in a landfill.

When shopping for your kids or someone else’s birthday I never considered things from this point of view, just whether they will enjoy or learn from what I give them. I’ve recently bought these cute cupcakes for Sydney where the tops come off, each a different colour and each fitting together differently. She loves this type of thing and I thought she’d enjoy it while learning about shapes. But, its plastic. It will eventually find its way to a landfill.

So, I want to change this. What is done is done, I won’t waste this toy now. And I will do my best to pass it on. But from now on I want to only purchase toys and things that are from renewable resources; wood, cloth, etc. I will not refuse used plastic toys as it is better to reuse existing things. But, with Christmas around the corner, I will be asking friends and family to avoid plastic things if they want to give something to my babies. Then I can help reduce our impact and, hopefully, make others think.

The Why Over the What

With the teams buy in regarding the daily diet tracking, the idea of returning to a vegetarian lifestyle is big in my head. I enjoyed being vegetarian; the challenge, the variety (if you look) and the way it made me feel better when I woke up in the morning and when I looked in the mirror. I felt better about myself. I miss it. I only returned to meat when I became pregnant as I wanted to ensure my kidlets would get what they needed from me.

But now, I find myself in a similar situation. I won’t make my kids become vegetarian; they are in such a critical time and what I feed them needs to fulfill and support the growth of not just their bones but their brains. So, I plan on continuing to cook meat for them in the hopes that they can choose for themselves when they are older and wiser.

Problem is, kids will be kids. I cooked up a big batch of penne alfredo for them. They both love pasta and they both loved the sauce when I put it on zucchini noodles. Then I added chicken for protein. And... no one will eat it.

This is where the reasons why I want to be a vegetarian kick in. I love me a big, juicy steak. I don’t believe it’s necessarily healthier; I’m good at eating poorly no matter what. The only reason is, as Sifu Brinker mentioned, because of the life that is needlessly lost so that I can have that steak. And beyond that, the creature who had to suffer because it was seen only as potential revenue and not a living being. When it comes to the meat industry, you can bet your pennies that money is more important than quality of life or life itself.

So to stay true to vegetarianism, I would not eat that pasta dish. And I’m sure Nick would put a good dent in it but then the rest would end up in a dogs belly or the trash can. In which case those multiple chickens who suffered and died that that I could fry them up in garlic would have died for zero reason. Or zero good reason- they did serve to line the pocket of someone.

I would have to be mindless to just say no because I decided no without thinking about why I said no.

Which is how the vast majority of us go about food. Myself included. But that is what I want to change. So yes, I will eat that pasta just as I ate the fish I made for them (which they also didn’t like). I will choose vegetarian for myself at every chance I get, but I will not let any meat otherwise in this house be wasted. In this way I hope to set an example for my kids and those around me; it’s not just what you do but why you do it that matters.