How going on a plastic-free diet made me a better eater
The surprising health benefits derived from a plastic-free diet.
I hate plastic.
At the same time, I consider myself to be a compassionate, kind, happy individual who is capable of loving most beings. I hate using the word hate.
But I really hate plastic.
Maybe I should be more clear, given that you are probably thinking, “Well you know, Ryan…your computer is made of plastic. So are your clothes, your phone, your socks, the couch you’re sitting on, the candy bar wrapper you’re staring at…”
Fine. Touché.
I really hate “disposable” plastic.
The kind that we use once then throw away; or that is used to package goods but that, once unwrapped, is completely useless to everyone and everything including itself. Recycling doesn’t want it, garbage is reluctant to take it, and don’t even think about compost.
I’m talking about the plastic wrap that covers our meat products, cheese, and some produce. Plastic tie thingys (yes, I said “thingys”) Flimsy plastic produce bags. Chip and cracker bags. All the little bits that come with those pre-packaged instant-noodle soups (I know you know what I mean, we’re not Puritans here, are we?).
The crinkly, little bits of food packaging that don’t fit in any of the slots we’ve deemed appropriate.
If you’re in BC, there are some exceptions. We now have an “other flexible plastic packaging” category into which we can hurl our junk. This flexible crap will meet its demise in a waste-to-energy facility which on one hand is a brilliant feat of engineering and on the other, totally binds us to the consumption hamster wheel. In order to create energy from waste, we need…waste.
After witnessing plastic’s devastating impact both out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and on Midway Atoll, I had had enough and decided, back in 2011, to go on a plastic diet.
What does a plastic-free diet mean?
You might still be wondering how on earth one goes “plastic-free” when we live in a plastic-filled world. I myself wonder this every day — it is virtually impossible to avoid. For the purposes of my “diet”, I limited myself to food-related plastic. This mostly meant food packaging like bags, wrappers, and plastic-lined boxes, but also things like take-out food packaging and disposable plastics like cutlery, coffee cups and lids, and straws.
It turns out that when you cut all that crap out, you also become a healthier person. It’s true!
Here’s what I’m talking about.
The benefits of a plastic-free diet
When I eliminated plastic from my diet, I also eliminated all processed foods. Chips, crackers, pre-packaged cookies, instant-noodle-soups, even bread! It all went out the window.
And while I don’t have anything wrong with eating animals (as long as they’re local, free-range, and given copious amounts of snuggles: CAFOs are evil and industrial meat production should be banned, full stop) I stopped eating meat for a while because it turns out, it’s not easy to find meat that’s not wrapped in plastic. When you do find it, it’s often very expensive (as it should be). At the time, I was a recent university grad living on a recent university-grad income. I could not afford $15/pound local, free-range, hugged hog bacon, even if it was both supremely delicious and a transcendental experience.
When I eliminated plastic, I — at first — eliminated a lot of other stuff that wasn’t necessarily bad, but not great either: milk in plastic bottles or plastic-lined cartons; processed juices in plastic bottles; cheese wrapped in plastic.
The plastic-free diet started spiralling. Before I knew it…
Less plastic equals more local
I started eating more locally. Even though I could find things like meat, bread, and cheese wrapped in paper at my local grocery store, oftentimes it wasn’t actually even local! Or it was processed. Or something else. So on the hunt for local food I went.
I went to farmer’s markets way more often. Even though at the time in Burlington, VT, the farmer’s market was mostly a tourist trap, I still found plastic-free veggies, fresh and abundant (and mostly, affordable). I bought the most delicious bread there, and at a local bakery.
I found locally-produced cream from a small-scale dairy operation (and discovered that the milk I had been drinking my whole life paled in comparison). I ate less of the things that we should eat less of — because if I wanted them locally sourced (and I so did) they were going to cost more (which is ridiculous but a story for another day). So, I ate fewer eggs, less meat, less cheese.
Less plastic equals more diversity
I got more exercise. This was definitely an unintended consequence but as a result of basically avoiding big-box grocery stores, I started biking to the farmer’s market and a local cooperative grocery store. I walked to the bakery. Of course, I had the good fortune of living within biking and walking distance of these places. This is not my reality now and it’s definitely not as easy!
I ate more plants. And I ate a wider diversity of foods generally. That beautiful cooperative grocery store (yes, I sound like a hippy. Yes, I also enjoy eating chips from time to time) was a cornucopia of fresh, local produce and abundantly stocked with a bulk food section that made me weak in the knees. I’d pack my bags and jars and fill up on coffee, beans, lentils, even pasta!! I went vegan for a time and it all worked out. The world did not stop spinning.
Less plastic equals more self-sufficiency
And since I was focused on plastic-free eating, it also became important to grow my own food — after all, a few seeds could yield me rows of beautiful vegetables that I could pick right in my backyard with no plastic or transportation emissions! So, then I had a garden full of kale, tomatoes, and herbs*.
- Isn’t it so ridiculous that we willingly fork over multiple dollars for a little plastic box of wilted herbs every time we need things like oregano, rosemary, thyme, and basil? I was chatting with a friend about this recently and we marvelled at her huge basil plant, sitting in her window regenerating leaves and just doing its plant thing. She picked it up at the grocery store for $2. Were she to purchase the same amount of basil in those stupid plastic boxes, she would probably be paying at least $12 (a packet of basil these days can cost upwards of $4!).
Less plastic equals more health
So, recap: by eliminating plastic from my diet, I also became a better eater.
Of course, I still ate snacks. Lest you think I was some perfectly healthful, sugar-free saint…I should mention that snacks are often available in bulk (so is candy — a dangerous game). Hence, I ate snacks. I drank coffee. I still used sugar, but I bought it in bulk.
But I exercised more. I started doing freaking hot yoga, people! And, I was more mindful of all of my food consumption. I ate less and I enjoyed what I did eat way, way, way more. Because here’s the thing about eliminating plastic from your diet:
The food is so much better without it.
What happens when we un-plastic our food
In order for something to be procured plastic-free and still maintain its flavour or texture, it has to be well-preserved (ideally in a way that doesn’t render it unhealthy: like fermented in a jar, dried for bulk consumption, flash-frozen; cured) or plucked when it is the most-ripe and eaten immediately. The food is fresh. It is a sensory experience. It demands your attention.
Thus, plastic-free diets lead to more healthful and mindful eating.
These days, my diet is a mix of plastic and local, meat and veggies, fermented foods and yes, some chips. My plastic-free diet ebbs and flows depending on the time of year, time of life, different circumstances. Some days it works, other days it’s a struggle (for example, when I’m trying to eat locally but it’s February in BC and I would really like crunchy green vegetables so I cave and buy yu choy greens wrapped in plastic from California…).
However, I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that adopting a plastic-free diet made me a more mindful eater and that bit has stuck with me.
Have you ever gone on a plastic-free diet? How did it go?
