Today- As a citizen of the world, I pledge...

Today, I'm officially starting my pledge not to purchase any more "chain" food. Not that I was ever a big fan or fast food or convenience store cuisine, but, at times, I've stopped in for a bite, especially if I was on the road. It was easy. It was there. I grabbed a bottled water, and Odwalla bar, and left.

Not anymore. From now on, unless absolutely necessary, I will not even buy coffee at a gas station while I'm on vacation. I will try as hard as I can to use up the materials at my house, or those that will soon be made available to me (i.e.- in a motel room). So, not only am I abstaining from buying prepackaged goods while I'm grocery shopping, I'm also carrying that through when I'm away from the house. When in coffee shops or other eateries, I won't get the "togo" option unless I must. Things like that.

This actually used to confuse me sometimes, because I realized one day that technically, I'm just making people wash something again, and some restaurants use multiple plates for a dish for a prettier presentation, even though I'd only need one bowl to eat my linguine. However, by not using the ToGo-ware, which hardly ever would be recycled, I'm not contributing to landfills. Though it wasn't a big question to begin with, I still feel better, now that I know more, about my decision. Besides, I would have to do about the same number of dishes, anyway, it just doesn't become a pain the ass for me.

Also, if anyone has information on how harmful dishwashers are to the environment, I'd love to hear it. Right now, we use a dishwasher, but how are the comparisons, both electrical and water conserving wise, between hand washing and using a dishwasher.

Thanks
-Kindra FM