Well, I don't actually consider it a fail... You be the judge.
My housemate was going through the fridge before she went on holiday, offering me all her perishables, and throwing away things that were already growing fur. I accepted a square inch of Marks and Spencer Extra Special mature cheddar, a pot of pesto, some tomatoes and lettuce (both wrapped in plastic) and... a pot of bacon lardons.
Now if I hadn't taken them, they would have gone in the bin. She couldn't have donated them to a food bank, because they don't accept perishable food. And anyway, the bacon was already past its use by date.
So I consider it a save, not a fail. It's the same with disposable plastics.
A couple of times since I started avoiding plastics, I have gone to a takeaway food outlet or a bar, and asked if I can have the food/drink without the plastic fork/straw. The friendly server says, yeah, no problem, and then out of habit puts it in anyway. Then they realise their mistake and go to take the plastic fork/straw out of my food/drink to throw it in the bin! So the "single-use plastic item" becomes the "zero-use plastic item".
In this case I always stop them and use the plastic fork/straw, but take it home with me and wash it and use it as many times as I can.
So in giving up meat for May I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint. But if the pig has already been raised, fed, watered, slaughtered, drained, chopped, smoked, packaged and shipped, then I see no sense in not at least getting some "use" out of it. And that I did.
My vegetable stew (with bacon lardons) |
Lunch at the Thali Cafe in Southville - who said vegan food was boring? |
I think I am going to adopt a "flexitarian" diet permanently, even after Meat-Free May is over. Flexitarian means eating a mostly plant-based diet, and eating less, and better quality, animal-derived products.
I plan to not buy any meat or dairy, and only eat local free range organic eggs, and local honey. I will however eat meat and dairy if (like the other day) it will be thrown in the bin otherwise. I think all food is too precious to waste.
Currently I m still buying milk and butter, but slowly cutting down. I've already given up buying cheese, which I would never have thought possible, but I just found it too much of a hassle to find it without plastic packaging. And although I still crave it occasionally, I am discovering some great new flavours to add excitement to my cooking, instead of always relying on cheese (and meat). It's making me a more adventurous cook.