Are You Getting Enough Plastic In Your Diet?

Recently I wrote about our “plastic kingdom” on this blog.  The next time you walk into any of your favorite stores look all around and tell me that I am wrong, we are drowning in a sea of plastic.  Well, as if that is not bad enough, we are now learning that large concentrations of plastic are showing up in our water and food sources.  Several independent scientific organizations have conclusive tests that show plastic molecules have increased in water supplies and food production.  Over the course of a year, it is estimated that you have consumed a credit card size piece of plastic—good luck trying to pass it.

Imagine your doctor asking you if you are getting enough iron, calcium, vitamin c and oh yeah, plastic in your diet.  Ok, maybe not plastic but from the sound of recent reports, you are getting your fair share of it anyway.  While most of this non-recycled waste is coming to you from the oceans and freshwater sources, many university studies (not yet completed) may show plastic particles showing up in wheat, corn and other food sources.  Studies show that the plastic which is actually recycled (only 12% of the whole volume) is ground into chips that makes it easier to haul to processing plants.  The rest is shipped to other countries to pollute their ecosystems.

The shredding process of plastic produces a fine powder that is easily finding its way into our streams and soil.  This plastic dust washes off of processing properties through rain run-off and off of the trucks that haul it, so the distribution of this waste has been widespread for years.  Rain run-off easily carries the lightweight materials into streams and ultimately into fields, evenly distributing it throughout our ecosystem.  So, what was believed to be a threat contained to the islands of floating plastic in our oceans has now become a threat to land.

This existential threat will eventually become reality as every store out there has tons of plastic on every shelf.  Consumption of water is currently the largest threat of plastic ingestion as we consume an estimated 1700 + particles of plastic per week.  That number is destined to climb as food sources are better examined.  The current water purification process generally removes heavy metals (the exception here, of course, being Flint Michigan), however, plastics are not eliminated through these processes.  So, it would seem that another chemical will have to be introduced into our water to help purify it—for piss sakes (no pun intended) does the cycle ever end?

Here is a radical idea, maybe we start selling more products through bulk distribution.  You purchase containers (maybe stainless steel) and fill them with the product that you wish to purchase.  I can already hear the corporate sphincters puckering in unison, slamming shut so hard that you could cut your cigar with them.  Surely you jest.  Do you know how much cost in labor that scenario would introduce to the store environment?  Why that is preposterous!  We can’t be saving our society with crazy ass ideas that cost more money to implement.

Ok, let’s try this one, how about every one of the greedy-ass corporations who produce millions of tons of plastic waste each year, develop their own recycling programs complete with processing plants.  Hey, you know what, you would create new jobs in personnel for these plants.  Wow, I am MAGA all over this shit!  But wait, corporations will only spend money that they can pass along to the customer as to not interrupt the endless flow of billions into their pockets. This would drive up the cost of products and reduce sales.  Do you see the endless cycle of bullshit here?  In the name of lower prices, higher volumes of production and huge corporate profits we are poisoning ourselves.  However, corporations do not bear all of the guilt here, we the customer carry a certain amount of guilt via gluttony, as we have to have those two liters of soda every day.

We are facing a real crisis here and I do not see many people taking it seriously.  If this continues, we will be able to take hiking trips to Europe as the oceans will finally be filled with our plastic waste.  Our soil will soon be replaced by plastic mulch and we will be unable to grow safe foods.  It is kind of ironic really, for years we have seen images of turtles with plastic six-pack rings growing out of their shells or plastic straws having to be surgically removed from their noses and fish with plastic stomachs, soon those images will be of us.

Talk to Ya Later

The Grumpy Old Fart Customer @2019 All Rights Reserved