"Ditch the compostables"

As we've all learned from class, the Second Agro-Food System began after WWII with the intention of "feeding the world" with high yield crop production. In particular the ubiquitous crop: corn. We know how the story goes, right? The birth of corn as we know it today reads something like: corn subsidies for farmers, high yields, corn surplus, corn-fed animals, and the corn-linked chain goes on.

In an article written by our very own Geography 271-er, Kali Swenson, another use for corn is highlighted: compostable materials. In the words of Kali herself:

How we eat has just as much an impact as what we eat. The compostable utensils and packaging popping up more and more these days, intending to be "green," are less benign than one would expect. Check out how these unexpected offenders affect the food system too.

Read her enlightening article, "Ditch the compostables", featured in UW's The Daily!

"We see the word “compostable” printed next to a green leaf and automatically feel assured that we are helping the environment in some way."

Another take on the PLA (polylactic acid)/corn-based compostable materials issue can be read at the Smithsonian blog. The article, "Corn Plastic to the Rescue" is written by Elizabeth Royte, a resident of Brooklyn, and the author of Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash. This article sees compostables more as the lesser of two evils.

To me, one thing is clear. Nothing is clear, or one could say, as resolute as one could hope. What I mean is that solutions are never easy, in fact they only seem to become more and more complex. As individuals attempt to resolve environmental issues, whether from top-down (i.e. tech or business fixes, government policy) or bottom-up (i.e. farmer's markets, personal action, small-scale), complications always arise and opinions of what is an 'ideal' or 'perfect' answer generally conflict. My personal philosophy is to do what you can, the best you can. Don't let compostable materials be manufactured in vain-- make the few extra steps to dispose of it correctly. And when possible, avoid relying on them at all, because what petroleum-based and corn-based compostables have in common is the capitalistic ideology associated with them. That is to say we are conceived as a population of consumers and are treated as such. These things are made because it is known (assumed) that we will use them. A great way to reduce environmental impact is to "simply" consume less.