Care for the Earth

The grocery options around Madison are less than desirable, sadly. There are really three grocery stores that are close, all of which probably have a 50 to 100% mark up compared to PA and then Whole Foods which is amazing, but too expensive to do all of my shopping there (my friend Dan lovingly refers to it as "Whole PayCheck"). Right now I buy as much as I can at Shop and Save - down the street from my apartment and then finish up at Whole Foods with organics and what I couldn't find at the regular grocery store.

All of the grocery stores are encouraging people to "go green" by giving a discount for each personal bag you use for groceries instead of taking a paper or plastic one. Anywhere from 5 to 10 cents off. I really wish they wouldn't offer the discount. Why? Because we shouldn't have to coheres people into going green. Seriously. Isn't wanting to preserve the earth for future generations enough of a reason?

Things with grocery shopping have not went well the last two weeks. Last week, I gave my bags to the cashier, who shoved them aside and started to pack all of my groceries in plastic. And the ugly side of me emerged as I started to lecture the poor kid (seriously, he was a high school student) about the reason I use the green bags. He essentially told me that I was 'too concerned' about the Earth. Oh buddy. I left fuming.

Then this week, a different grocer at the same store decided to pack as many groceries into one bag as he could, in order to save himself the extra 5 cent discount that it would cost him to pack yet another bag. AND then he gave me plastic bags even though I had 7 reusable bags left. Was I happy? No! In Australia, people didn't need incentive to do their part. Yet back in the states people look at you funny when you talk about green bags, public transportation, CFLs, composting and recycling, just to name a few things. Get with the times.! Is the extra 5 cents it would cost a corporation worth destroying the Earth for?