Zero Carb Keto: Avoiding Plastics Part II

Zero Carb Keto

Avoiding Plastics Part II

The other day I wrote about trying to avoid plastic while following a zero carb diet. I want to avoid plastic because plastic waste never biodegrades, and so accumulates in the environment throughout the whole world, due to winds and ocean currents. Plastic fibers from our clothes (polyester, nylon, viscose, acrylic, etc.) end up in the water every time we wash them.

The plastics can end up in the stomachs of ocean fish, animals, and birds, killing them. Plastics also leach harmful compounds into the earth's waters, which then get into our own tissues as well through the water cycle.

Two very good documentaries on the subject are "Plastic Paradise" and "The Garbage of the World," if you would like to learn more.

(Just an aside, another thing to keep in mind is that pharmaceuticals and chemicals leach into the water cycle too! A good documentary for more information on that is "Downstream." It was quite shocking to find out that mother's milk is now the most polluted food that humans eat!)

So I was compelled to move my own daily life towards a zero waste goal! Some transitions have been fairly easy and actually better that what I was using before, surprisingly! I purchased The Keeper, a 100% natural rubber menstrual cup, and switched back to eyeglasses instead of contact lenses. I am purchasing locally made goat milk soap bars instead of body washes in plastic bottles.

But other parts of my life have proved to be much more tricky to avoid plastic. I am experimenting with Indian hair herbs instead of shampoo in plastic bottles. I am able to purchase them in bulk, and I brought my own paper bags to hold them in. So I will be trying those this week!

I picked up some bulk herbs to make my own lip gloss and moisturizer as well!

The same store also has henna and indigo in bulk, which I use to dye and condition my hair. So that's great!

They also have dish liquid and laundry liquid in bulk!

I was able to purchase a stainless steel compost bin, which I am waiting to arrive, and some compostable waste bags. So I will plan on composting all of my waste.

I have decided to change my purchasing habits and only buy household goods that are not packed in plastic, and ideally, not made of plastic either, and not shipped to me in plastic.

But now is the hardest part of all! How do I get my meats without involving plastic? The only choices for frozen meat packaging are plastic wrap or paper lined with plastic!

I went to one of my local butcher counters and asked if it was possible to get the fresh meat in unlined paper, but they told me that the state board of health requires that meat must be in contact with plastic. (!!)

I called a local meat processor to see if they might be able to just use unlined paper when processing a half or quarter beef share for me, but they need me to call back on Monday.

I really hope that there is some option. I have heard that some people have been able to bring their own containers to the butcher counter, but it seems maybe that is only allowed on a state-by-state and country-by-country basis? I can pursue that further. That is a more expensive option than buying a quarter beef share or whole lamb share.

Interestingly, I looked up to see what people used before plastic. It turns out that people used cellophane (some of us may remember it!), which is biodegradable. I did find that cellophane bags are still available! So maybe I could ask for my meats to be packed in cellophane that I would provide?

The only other option I can see to avoid plastic is to buy canned meat or fish, and then recycle the cans. But I really do not like that idea at all. I prefer fresh meats, for health as well as taste! Also, the cans are often lined in plastic too. Although somehow they still recycle them, supposedly?

Another part of my life which has been very tricky to come up with a plastic free option is my cat! His food comes in plastic bags (again, I guess I could buy canned food and recycle the cans, I guess?). I even tried making him homemade kitty kibble and raw food, but he did not like them.

The cat litter comes in plastic bags too. There is one shop here that sells bulk litter, but it is not compostable, so would still be contributing to landfill accumulation.

I have heard that it is possible to make your own cat litter out of newspapers. I do not ordinarily buy newspapers though! But I will do more research. That would be an option that would be compostable.

Another actually pretty appealing option is moving him back out to a friend's place in the country where he has access to the woods. He really enjoyed having access to the outdoors, which he no longer has. And when he lived there previously, he did not even use the litter box at all!

One more tricky area will be clothes. It is important to use only natural fiber clothing, which is very hard to find! Also, I dress professionally and that means occasionally I need to have my clothes dry cleaned. So I may have to start dressing more casually, or figure out a way to clean them myself. Mostly they do not really need cleaning, just brushed and aired out, and occasionally steamed or ironed. Silks are easy to wash by hand. But wool clothes are much trickier and that is the majority of what I wear. So that requires more research!

Anyway, I am hard at work on solving these problems and will keep reporting back what I find!

Also, I wanted to add that I listened to an excellent podcast yesterday with Dr. Peter Ballerstedt, regarding the importance of ruminants in the health of humans and the environment. Highly recommended!
https://soundcloud.com/breaknutrition/episode-18-peter-ballerstedt-phd-better-nutrition-through-sustainable-agriculture
Here's another podcast with Peter which also briefly discusses "lab meat":
https://www.agrireseau.net/bovinsboucherie/videos/95967/dr-peter-ballerstedt-part-ii

Grassfed lamb roast with sea salt