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In my household alone, there are five people. My garbage has to be taken out daily. Years ago, my former husband went on a TV dinner kick. The kids and I joined in. I tolerated about six weeks of this before I decided that, as convenient as these box and tray meals were, I was really disturbed to see how much waste we produced. Back then, two to three bags of garbage were taken out of my house on a daily basis; that included plastic bottles and several cans. I could have just bought a giant garbage can, but instead put a stop to it. And some of us lost a pound or two after that.

But those frozen meals were more affordable than fresh produce. I guess this is because real food isn't as popular as junk food. That's unfortunate, because many Americans can't even afford health care. Yet, with the physical ills brought on by the modern lifestyle, there is a great demand for health care. As a result, emergency rooms are often filled with people who are really just needing to see a nonemergency doctor. They can't pay at the time of the visit, so they just opt to receive a bill for many times what they would have paid for a doctor visit. (I can see how desperation leads to this, especially when you're in pain. It's kind of like getting an instant loan from a check cashing center; you promise to pay back a whole lot more than you would have to had you not been so desperate in the first place.)

Furthermore, most of those employed by the industries and distributors of all these junk products earn minimum wage, or close to it. Individual consumer choices add up. They are what the stores base their shipments on. They are what keep the industries going.

We live in industrial times. Never in history has there been so many consumers. Consumers absolutely rule. They rule through their choices. The choices have led to a lot of social and environmental ills. Aside from shallow conveniences, most of our choices don't benefit our society. But they could. Sadly, the very choices that are infused with the modern American way of life only keep us in the position to follow the very trends that cause inequality between classes and environmental uncertainty. Half of what is considered either cool or just highly acceptable is slowly injuring both our environment and our society. Every other commercial wants to sell you something that will either add to all the waste we already produce, decline your health in the long run and addict you in the process, or put more money into the pockets of

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