Pandemic prep and the environment...

So, I'm reading a lot of paranoia and obsessiveness about the coronavirus.  And preparing for outbreaks.  But we have to think about how our prep is harming the environment too, and contributing to the problem, Are there easy answers?  No.

We have to go back to cloth.  We can use scraps to make masks, hankies, etc.  Which can then be laundered.   Maybe carry a dishtowel in your purse to dry your hands/open manky doors, etc?

Lets go back to wearing gloves, cotton or leather?  As well as washing our hands.  Lets skip the sanitizer unless we really need it, it comes with its own health consequences, as well as lots of plastic.

I do a winter CSA.  I have a ton of veg.   A lot of veg actually stores well. Keep it cool, away from mice.  

Dried fruit is good.

We need to get back to an older way of working with foods and veg and some disease.  We need to get away from plastic and disposables as much as possible so they are there if someone needs them, because there are diseases that will need the disposables.

No wipes (make your own?  Wipe down with a little vinegar and alcohol? ). We don't want to overload our sewers with antibacterial etc, either.  Regular soap works fine.   Sanitizers eventually wash down the drain, into our rivers, lakes, oceans, etc.

Paper towels eat trees.  (yes they are good to have, BUT).

Lets break out the cloth.  

The soap.

About six years ago, we had massive massive snows that basically blocked foods from getting through.   Supermarkets were empty.  I still had local milk, and home-canned veg and local meats.   But we really need to start learning from these things.  With climate change, with massive disruption that is only going to get worse, we need to start learning from the past.  We need to take the best of the past with the best of the present to make a sustainable future.

Reusable masks of cotton for one.

Drying/preserving fruit and veg.

Nix the single-serving containers.  Get a big bag of oats.

A chicken will make a few meals.  Roasted.  Salad (or pasta/pilaf/etc).  Soup.

And WASH those hands.