Stardate: March 9, 2014
First Sunday of Lent
The day of the epic church service that dost last 15 minutes too long.
Also, first self-righteous letter drafts.
Today's entry: draft of letter to Chick-fil-a (italics are commentary, not included in draft).
Draft #1
Uze mor cardbord! Eat lez plastic! Lez plastic = betr chikin!
Luv, me.
Draft #2
Dear Chick-fil-a,
OH! The nefarious ways of the poison styrofoam, plastic #6 (66). BEHOLD, thy graven foam cups, ye only cups! And woe! But what of the children? The kids meal containers, the estrogenic styrene leaching, leaking, lurking into food and veins and brains. WHO WILL THINK OF THE CHILDREN?! The poison mounts, accumulative; your wanton gifts destruction to a generation grants me no harbor save to refuse to partake of your tasty food products and warn all of the same. Delicious is your chicken, diabolical is your betrayal.
Sincerely not your customer, except for when I use your playground,
me.
Draft #3
Dear Sirs and Madams, purveyors of fine quality chicken and the Original Chicken Sandwich,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! I feel I can address them thusly, as they are obviously a Fine Christian Establishment, being that they are closed Sundays. I am writing to you as a concerned consumer of your chicken, and fellow Christian. Earlier this year I participated in a boycott of your establishment due to the exclusivist and damaging positions of some of your subsidiaries that do not support equal rights for all people, but since you did not seem to notice (at some point the protest becomes a little, well, futile, when they don't seem to notice my abstinence at all, and other pressures mount. This is probably another example of weak resolve on my part), and because my children demand to eat your chicken nuggets and play on your accessible and clean playground, a moral stalemate was reached. Once again I regularly find myself in your establishment, perhaps as often as once a week (I know, I know, but did you not understand that the playground is INDOORS? During a brutal winter of our discontent, this indoor haven has been one of our few respites from pent up energies during the bitter cold. Have a little mercy on a mom). I appreciate your chicken salads and, indeed, the Original Chicken Sandwich is a favorite of mine. I also heard that you are making strides towards more sustainable chicken production and a reduction-to-elimination of antibiotics in your poultry. I approve of this, and I do actually appreciate that you are closed on Sundays.
On my most recent trip I was pleasantly surprised to discover that you have switched your sandwich containers from a form of polystyreme (trademarked Styrofoam) to cardboard. I was extremely pleased, in part because clearly my sandwich was cradled adequately without the use of foam, and also because my Lenten devotional is an exploration of plastics in my daily life, and an attempt to not use any plastics during Lent 2014; this is very difficult (no, it impossible. But you can imagine that I'm more successful than I am). You can follow my practice at http://lentenplastics.blogspot.com/ (did you see that subtle inclusion there? I don't sound arrogant at all). When I ordered, I inquired as to whether any beverage containers at Chick-fil-a were NOT polystyrene/Styrofoam, and alas but as expected, there were none. As such, I was not able to order a drink.
My children however, were permitted to order their kids meals because I knew the milk containers to be plastics #2, which are easily recyclable using our home waste management service. Unfortunately, I assumed that the chicken and fruit containers were likewise #2 or #1. They are not. Your kids meal containers continue to employ plastic #6, which also is polystyrene of the same order, although different presentation, as your beverage cups. (Is my english level too high? Do you think they will understand the various usages of the word 'employ' and 'presentation'?)
I am writing to implore (beg? cajole? plead? demand?) you to alter your plastics choice in your food containers. Although polystyrene has excellent heat and cold retention properties, and it's high air content reduces shipping costs because of its light weight, this product has an awful ecological footprint. Not only is plastic #6 almost universally unable to be recycled, it does not degrade in the environment. Polystyrene/Styrofoam will be present in the environment for centuries at least, as it's stable formation refuses photodegradation and continues to release amounts of styrene into both food products and the environments. (many science words. Perhaps "this foam cup will be around for our great-great-grandchildren to choke on, and nothing breaks it down--maybe breaks it smaller, but it will always be styrofoam which releases tiny amounts of poison into the surrounding area. It's affects include infertility, so this problem directly affects spousal happy-time. There, if it affects sex do you care?)
Polystyrene's lightweight nature make it easily airborne, and while the cups are easily crushed into smaller particles, these particles are nearly impossible to recapture. Furthermore, you should know that studies on polystyrene used for hot and cold beverages indicate that while cold beverages receive little styrene contamination, this off-gassing is directly related to the heat of the beverage, and significant amounts are released into beverages such as coffee and tea. Although consumer trends have not yet swung against polystyrene/Styrofoam, it is my belief that it is only one strong consumer expose away from a sharp downturn in popularity. You would do well to be ahead of the trend. (Thinly veiled and unactionable threats are always effective).
Additionally, I see no reason you could not switch your kids meal containers to plastics #5, the same form used for yogurt containers and some coffee lids, a lightweight and durable plastic that is better able to be recycled and not nearly so permanent in our ecology. I would also ask why the cardboard containers used for my sandwich were not available for the children's meals. (hey, yeah! Why can't you be consistent?)
I am pleased to see some strong forward strides in your company policy to become more sustainable, such as using cardboard and moving toward antibiotic-free chicken. Please make a reduction and elimination of plastic #6 Polystyrene part of your business model. As major players in the fast-food marketplace, your decisions have strong ramifications on the supply system, as well as other industry competitors.
Also, I can't order drinks at Chick-fil-a so long as you only serve in polystyrene. Although my abstinence (!) has begun in Lent, my education as to the effects of polystyrene containers has led me to determine that I will not use this potentially carcinogenic substance ever again in the future. I hope you don't think I'm a crazy person, because you can seriously just google this information and make an informed decision for yourself. (true.)
While I continue to wish that you and your subsidiaries would be more constructive in human rights equality, particularly marriage equality, I suppose that concern seemingly has little to do with your chicken (it actually has a lot to do with their chicken, but focus here, plastics. Plastics). My concern about your plastics use does directly relate to your chicken, in that I swear it tastes better in cardboard and in any plastic container other than #6. Until your business practices change, we may be unable to purchase kids meals and drinks, and may be reduced to buying cookies in order to gain access to your well-maintained (plastic!) indoor playgrounds, which remain a serious draw.
Thank you for your time, and I eagerly await your response.
Sincerely,
Marie MO
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