What is it about Green?

I guess a lot of people would assume that I either know or do this but I don't....not really anyway. I'm talking about going green. I'm sure a lot of people talk about eating organic food or reducing pollution and this movement is gaining momentum in Malaysia but in the US, it's been going on for a while now.

Being my day off (the morning anyway), I decided to take a little trip in the afternoon to the local grocery store and organic shop. For that one hour I spent cycling there and looking around, I felt like a tree-hugger hippie. I brought my backpack along with me so I reduced the amount of plastic bags I used and instead, put the groceries into my bag. In addition to that, I bought some organic and free-trade food. I tell you one thing for sure, it ain't cheap.

One bag of sesame seaweed rice crackers cost me $3.19 and a bar of free-trade organic Mint Dark Chocolate was $4.19. For price comparison, I can get a Hershey bar for $1 or less on sale. They say that organic foods tastes better but I am skeptical so I decided to try it for myself.

Honestly, I would rather eat a bag of Cheetos any day, complete with extra sodium and msg than eat this if I had a choice. I mean, it wasn't bad but it wasn't fantastic either. I usually snack on chips when I have a craving for salty food and sadly, this does not satisfy. They are kind of bland but I'm sure if a little more seasoning was added, I might just change my mind in spite of the price I have to pay for it.


The organic chocolate was a different story however. I must say the people who run the Equal Exchange for cocoa have extremely good marketing skills. You don't just buy a bar of chocolate, you also get information about what you purchase.


Information about fair trade cocoa is printed on inside of the wrapper for you to read and digest and basically pat yourself on the back on how you did good by helping out some poor cocoa farmer in Peru earn a better income and how you helped stop the exploitation of cocoa farmers by buying Fair Trade chocolate. I like to call this..."Feel Good Chocolate". As if the endorphins that you get while consuming chocolate isn't enough... But I guess it's a good thing to not take advantage of people who don't know any better but then again, at $4.19 a bar, are people willing to pay that much for chocolate? In spite of the hefty price for a bar, I must say that it was some good s**t chocolate... Call me weird but I like dark chocolate (which most people hate) with mint (which most people hate also...) and this company produces what I want exactly...so I'm not complaining.

In addition to my green exploits, I'm proud of the fact that I bought a vintage second hand bicycle for $15 and I love to ride it. Here's a picture of my bike; it is at least 30 years old!


However, I also have a confession to make. I haven't been recycling like I should...only because I couldn't find the green bin that some person put behind my house! I feel guilty already! Will recycle this coming week when the garbage truck comes on Friday...