The abundance of and over-reliance on plastic in Thailand really got to me as soon as I stepped foot in one of Bangkok's numerous food markets. Sure the presentation might be appealing with food nicely lined up, wrapped in tiny plastic bags and ready to consume. But many of those food items are hot (like meat or rice) and when placed into a plastic bag, well, don't they become toxic? As I watched people munch away on all those goodies, it didn't seem like they were worried about any health risks.
I was worried though. Even more so when I saw floating plastic bottles and used bags in the river that we crossed in a long tail boat to get to the temple. Surprisingly, or not, that same contaminated river is densely populated with fish, fish that surely feeds on particles of that plastic mistaking it for food and fish that later ends up in those markets. At the end of the food chain we find ourselves ingesting double the amount of toxins - from those fish and the bags they're placed in. How can you not react to that?
Everyone around me though seemed quite tranquil and relaxed about this situation granted they probably never reflected on it from that point of view. And why didn't they? Well, I blame the governments for it and on their support of great corporations that thrive on the production of cheap and easily portable material that destroys the planet we inhabit. I blame it on lack of education and perhaps inadequate campaigning on the part of environmental organizations. I also blame it on globalization and capitalism that robs people of time and resources to prepare their own food and lower the dependence on premade meals.
I wasn't aware of this, but I learned from these two Canadian girls who were teaching English in Thailand that most families there do not have a kitchen at home. It is much cheaper and more efficient to eat at the market. It was really hard for me to wrap my mind around this concept. How can you ever satisfy your body and soul by eating food that had been prepared by somebody else? It is bad enough that we no longer live in a society where we would have to fetch our own food, let alone eliminate the step where the food we consume actually passes through our own hands. I find that disconcerting and quite dangerous to the human kind.
I am not about to sit here and say that the United States is doing a much better job about saving the planet. Oh no, certainly not. I did, however, remember one event that took place in New York some 10 years ago when I used to live there. The Super (the man in charge of maintenance) in my apartment building ran into me as I was throwing away some garbage and hearing a rattling sound inside my bags, he yelled, "Stop RIGHT there!" I stood there confused as he inquired, "Did you FORGET to recycle your glass?" And I responded, "I don't know. Maybe?" He wouldn't let me go. I was dressed up for work and he wanted me to open my garbage bags and dig out the glass right there and then. I told him he was crazy and I left the bags at his feet. As I returned home that night, there was a note on my door explaining the laws of New York about recycling and the fines associated with the failure to comply with them. Wow, I thought, this recycling business is no joke. Although I hated that Super with a passion, I appreciated his militant approach to the problem. We need people like him all over the world! Even if he didn't understand why he was told to make sure people recycled, he would at least be successful in instilling fear in people who dared to litter.
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