Conscious Choice: Leftovers Again?

August 2005 | BackWords

Leftovers Again?

Many in the world would be thrilled to eat what we consider scraps

By D.A. Guiliani

THE AD READ “WHOLE CHICKENS, $3.” A fryer for three bucks was a terrific bargain. I bought one, cut it in half, put one half in the freezer, and left the other half in the fridge to roast for supper. At the mailboxes in my apartment building, I told a woman about the deal, saying I’d enjoy that half-chicken for three consecutive nights. In a snotty, uppity tone she said, “I don’t eat leftovers.” In my youth I would have told her off. But six decades-plus of living, the last two in a life of a living, breathing Buddhist (Buddhists will get the pun), I’ve learned to say nothing. But my thoughts were these: Three billion people in the world live on less than $2 a day, one billion go to bed hungry every night, 30,000 children die of starvation every day in this world. They would all relish leftover chicken.

The U.S. accounts for 5 percent of the world’s population, yet it consumes 40 percent of the world’s resources each year, creates 25 percent of its garbage and uses 25 percent of the petroleum produced each year, according to the United Nations.

All of that consumption means people in the U.S. have a very large slice of the material goods pie, and people in other countries go without.

No wonder many people in the world don’t like us. We’re bullies. We’re greedy. We’re wasteful. All because of our choices. Many of the choices we make aren’t doing much good for us either. A growing number of us are becoming obese and addicted to any number of things. One-third of the U.S. population is on anti-depressants, according to the American Medical Association. Many of us can’t seem to grasp that life isn’t perfect, even though the TV ads say it should be. And when it’s not perfect, many people flee rather than face reality.

Gossip has become the mainstay of news. Diana Spencer’s two sons, William and Harry, will no doubt have no direct impact on our lives yet we are inundated with stories about them. But we like our gossip fixes, which are located at the checkout counter right next to our sugar fixes and junk. And all of the junk at the checkout is indeed junk.

They place it there because marketers know what you’ll do better than you do. They’ve studied you; they know you’re more apt to buy the product at eye level on a store shelf. The generic brand breakfast cereal, for example, requires reaching or stooping to be taken from a shelf.

But you can choose to reach for that other cereal box just as you can choose to examine every act in each day. Every choice matters, even those that appear to do nothing. Every choice to use something several times rather than wasting it means you spent less and create less garbage, while saving time and energy and protecting the environment.

For instance, you’re in the kitchen. You pour the contents of a bag of frozen peas into a pan of boiling water. You toss the empty bag into a wastebasket. The wastebasket is lined with a plastic garbage bag. You buy food storage bags. All these bags are petroleum-based products. Why not turn that bag from peas inside out, wash it, dry it and reuse it as a food storage bag? Not only will you buy fewer plastic bags, create less garbage and save money, but also you will cut down on America’s dependence on imported oil. Less imported oil even means less chance for oil spills in oceans.

Everything is related; all acts are tied to other acts. Waste plastic? More is produced, consuming energy, which in turn spews chemicals into the air. The planet warms. A 2-degree temperature increase in a river can kill fish, encourage algae blooms, and harm the entire watershed. That’s the massive and long-term effect of tossing that empty plastic frozen bag of peas into the garbage.

Each minor decision can impact the world. So choose to walk the four blocks to the library, six to religious services, eight to the grocery store. Instead of watching sex, violence and idiocy on TV, walk a mile after supper. You won’t waste gasoline or electricity, or needlessly wear on your car and you’ll be healthier.

The back of junk mail makes great sites for grocery store lists. Do you throw that mail out and buy notepads? The deli where you shop probably buys mayo, shortening and frosting in large plastic pails. Ask them to sell you a pail for a buck, which is far cheaper than even most discount store’s pails. And the deli pails then have long lives.

Plastic bags from stores can become your garbage bags. Socks with un-mendable holes: cleaning cloths.

Buying fresh veggies at a farmers’ market? Choose beets with the green tops. Don’t toss the leaves. Steam them and add seasonings and butter. That way you’ll get two meals from one purchase. If you live alone, a loaf of bread lasts a week, so buy the day old at half-price. One day more isn’t going to matter. Would you prefer that day old loaf be thrown into the store’s garbage?

You don’t need more; you need to share. That whole chicken on sale at half-price will not produce leftovers. I prefer to call them encores and enjoy each one. I’m not hungry. I’m not cold or damp. I have countless cultural choices, a wardrobe that covers me, comfortable chair in which to sit for reading a book, and even if I were the poorest American I’d live better than most of the world’s population. Three consecutive nights of chicken is a privileged life for many of the world’s people.

D.A. Guiliani is a retired educator who taught economics and history and coached girls’ basketball. An avid gardener, she currently lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

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