"That's all well and good, but..."

"Trader Joe’s 10 Instant Coffee Packets All Dressed up with Creamer & Sugar were crafted to quell the coffee conundrum, not just for our buyers, but for all who face it. Discovered while traveling in Korea by a buyer in desperate need of a quick, quality caffeine fix, these portable packets promise a consistent cup of delicious coffee with a careful balance of creamer and cane sugar sweetener. That’s right; the coffee, cream and sugar are combined in the same packet. All you need is a drinking vessel and some hot water – simple, elegant, reliable."
That's GREAT when you are traveling in far away and distant lands where a cuppa joe might be hard to come by, in a serious pinch, in desperate times.

We still seem to be rushing down the wrong path. I really want to see us turn around. I DON'T see it turning around, but I wish it would. But I never seem to run out of things to say here. I'd call it job security, but, well... I don't actually get paid for this.

Yeah. Who's kidding who? Whom? Whatever. People aren't picking up this product for their trip to Borneo. For climbing the Alps. For super-coffee-emergencies. People are buying this to use in their homes, and of course that is perfectly fine by TJ's. That's what they made it for - to sell it.

Why does anyone *need* this product at home on any random day? Just can't get up the energy to actually collect the jar of instant and the sugar and the creamer on a daily basis? I can see how that can get tiresome.

By all means, buy this product for that "coffee conundrum" that you ran into in your own kitchen. Those happen far too frequently. It's a real problem. Solve it with plastic packaging! Quick! Hurry!

Something Fishy About My Seaweed

Yes, it tastes just a little... fishy. But day-yum I am hooked on roasted seaweed. Love the stuff. I could eat it all day every day. Like the SeaSnax brand says, "Strangely Addictive!" It really is. When I open a bag of those, it takes restraint to not eat the whole thing in one sitting.

What I do not love are the "grab 'n' go" packs that every single company insists on making. If you've seen these snacks, you know exactly of what I speak. The packs are amazingly inexpensive and easy to just pick up as you head to check out. And they all have those stupid plastic trays in them. Every last brand. Is that really necessary? Is it that if they weren't in cute little trays, they would get too crushed?  SeaSnax makes a wonderful bag of larger flat sheets. Love them. Sure they come in a bag still, but no plastic tray. Oh, sure, not nearly as convenient. I see the problem.

I got to meet the guy in charge of SeaSnax. The Chief Cook, as it says on his business card. Yes, at the Natural Products Expo. Great event, have I mentioned it before? I flat-out asked him why those silly trays were necessary. Couldn't we do without them, or use some other product than plastic? Or do without them? (Yeah I know I already said it, it just seems like that is a feasible and reasonable thing.) He seemed... sad. I don't think he was expecting that question from anyone at the show, but seemed like he had wrestled with the same question. See, these guys are just a small outfit from right here in Los Angeles. It's a niche food, for sure. They have to tow the line, do what they need to do to sell their product amid hearty competition. He indicated that no matter what he might thing is good and might want, he has to go with what the almighty marketing people say. He has to do what the consumers want, and the marketing people say the consumers want the cute little trays. It would actually save them money to not use them, BUT...

I find this beyond sad.

I think we are lost. I think we are not going to see the light. I think it's too late and that not enough people are listening.

Meanwhile, I got the impression from this great guy that they were indeed working on something and that I would like it but that he couldn't quite talk about it yet. Trade secrets, and all, I think. So, I'm waiting. I hope I like it. I love these things but generally do not buy them, because I refuse to buy those trays, no matter how great a deal they are. 99 cents? Oh so tempting! What a price! but I will NOT. I just can't and so I won't. I'll be waiting to see what they come up with for my new favorite snack. Meanwhile... kale chips? Yeah, I can try that! You? If you must have these, please get the larger SeaSnax sheets (http://seasnax,com), stay away from those senseless useless plastic trays. Them SeaSnax are yummy.

You know, until the radiation from Fukushima makes this food impossible to obtain...

Trader Noe's

All environmentalists shop at Trader Joe's, and Trader Joe's is the best place for all crunchy granola-eating sandal & socks-wearing tree-huggers to shop.

Uh...

Thank you, but I'll go to another store today!

I used to LOVE Trader Joe's, before I knew better. I'd still go there if my only other choice was Whole Foods, but it would be a push. They really do have good food, they really do... and I love their alcohol prices. A lot of their prices are really quite nice and some of the products aren't terrible, but they import a hell of a lotta crap from other countries, and that's not very green. But that's not what finally got me.

What finally pushed me over the edge was a very delicious salad I had for lunch one day. It was full of extremely delightful ingredients, and it was perhaps the most perfect salad I have had in weeks. So what was wrong with it? Besides the fact that it, like so many other food items there, came packaged in a single-serving plastic container? Right there in the package, IN the package, was a completely unnecessary plastic fork. WHY??? (BTW, someone had purchased it for me. I would have passed if I had seen it in the store personally. But, damn, it was delicious.)

For some time now, I have been frustrated by TJ's packaging. Brown rice? Sure! Get in in our frozen package, single serving, all neat in plastic! So convenient! There's no need to MAKE brown rice, it's sooooo hard to make it yourself! Pasta lunch, single serving? Sure, right here in our plastic container! (Oh, and a fork, because it'll be there whether you need it or not. Oh, and you should NEVER need it. Right?) Lasagna! Ravioli!! Stuffed peppers!!! So many things so conveniently packaged so you, the one who has NO time to plan a lunch and why should you need to what with TJ's making everything so easy, YOU don't have to think EVER.

OK, yeah, whatever. We live on the go, and Trader Joe's is simply providing what our busybusybusy lives demand. But really? A fork? Can't you AT LEAST give me the option of NOT needing it? Must you make it so easy to contribute to the plastic vortices in the oceans? Can't you give me the chance to say, "No, thank you so very much, you are too kind, but I will use my OWN actual real fork today."

Mr. Trader Joe, why can't you be the store we'd like you to be? Why can't you reject this kind of mindless consumerism and take the higher road? Why do you cave to those who mindlessly pollute because they can't be bothered to plan ahead for once in their pathetic lives, and why must you drag the rest of us down with them? Your fun signs and colorful shiny happy people don't fool me anymore. You don't care. I thought you did, but you're just like the rest of them. You lied. I deserve better. But I know. I can't change you. You've tasted success at the hands of the lazy, and you don't think you need me anymore.

I'll shop elsewhere, thank you. Have a nice day. I wish you well. Oh, wait, who's this? Well, hello, Henry.... Joe Who?