The subject of being a perfect greenie, admitting eco-sins, and the illusion of some kind of “green war” among mom bloggers has been popping up quite a bit online these days.
Personally, I like to think I have been pretty open and honest about my imperfections: I believe in being armed with the knowledge to make better choices, but also the understanding that perfect is impossible.
It can be almost liberating to admit when we totally throw our better judgement to the wind and engage in some absurd non-green behavior, as My Plastic Free Life author and blogger Beth Terry recently did when she wrote about eating a can of Campbell’s soup from a BPA lined can. The post blew up with comments — some chastising, but mostly relating and thanking her for her honesty.
I thought of Beth last week when I had an irrational pregnancy craving for canned soup. I had my own homemade organic butternut squash sitting in the freezer in glass containers, but it simply wouldn’t do. I wanted sodium and chemical-laden Progresso soup — preferably something in a tomato variety that just seeped BPA. I wanted it so badly I walked to CVS in 30-degree weather to procure it. Fortunately, it wasn’t that good after all so I don’t think I’ll be purchasing it again for a while. But I know that is far from the end of my pregnancy cravings — if I make it another six months without hitting McDonalds it will be a miracle.
We certainly aren’t celebrating these missteps — we are just being human! And it’s important to be human because no one wants to listen to a green robot chastising them for eating Doritos. Although that’s a craving I still have never had…
Paige Wolf is a Philadelphia mom and author of Spit That Out! The Overly Informed Parent’s Guide to Raising Children in the Age of Environmental Guilt. This post is adapted from her blog, Spit That Out!
