Extinct bananas and why hippies go crazy.

I went grocery shopping this morning. I knew that I was just not going to be able to write a presentation without getting some mueslix in me first. I went to PriceChopper, because it’s close, cheap, has the mueslix I like, and means I can walk down the street with CPwr on his way to the streetcar stop.

While there, I wanted to pick up some sundry extras…but trying to be an “ethical shopper” ( A few examples:
-bananas. Well, I’m at PriceChopper, so they’re not organic. Strike One. And, if the head of the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP) is to be believed, bananas are going to be gone in 10 years. Just feeling weird about bananas these days as a result.
-berries. I’ve read ‘Reefer Madness’. And these berries are from the States, and I don’t remember which of the producers don’t suck ass for labour standards. No cart for you.
-yogurt. Again, not organic, and not local. So, since I don’t feel like sucking back growth hormones from the teats of sad little cows, I think I’ll pass.
-bagels. Having had a lot of fresh bagels lately, it’s really hard to convince yourself to buy the bag o’ bagels. To be all geeky: “How did the machines know what Tasty Wheat tasted like. huh?. Maybe they got it wrong.” That’s what those bagels taste like to me – chewy and synthetic.
-packaging, plastic, and pesticides, oh my…

So this is how the hippies go crazy. If you open your mind to a few basic principles of living (“My eating shouldn’t involve exploiting people”, “The second ingredient in all my food shouldn’t be ‘sugar'”, “I shouldn’t be wiping my butt with brand new trees smothered in bleach”, “I don’t need my cookies individually packaged inside of a box inside of a bag, inside of a…”), it’s pretty easy to find yourself sobbing on the floor of a supermarket aisle.

Which I am not – I buy my Mueslix, and make a plan to bike to the market on the weekend for some locally-produced, organic goodies. Self-righteous? Oh heck yes.