Pulling a corn-based fork out of his pocked, Elliot turned to me during dinner and asked what I thought about Muhammad Yunus' edible containers idea. He bit one of the points and I joked about how the first time I ate with compostable utensils I did try to nab a nibble from them. When Yunus told a similar story during the lecture, the collective laugh in the Campus Y confirmed that many of us have attempted the same thing. At the time, I felt sheepish for trying (and failing), but he spoke about it so frankly, so reasonably, that suddenly the expectation didn't seem foolish. I spent a good part of the night picturing soup softening the sides of an ice cream cone, or ranking the potential of different foods that were just stiff and impermiable enough to hold liquid without breaking your teeth after the meal (tortilla shells vs. hardened sugar?).
It amazed me how Yunus' suggestion to simply make edible containers poses such a challenge. In the face of cheap, disposable, insulating Styrofoam (mortal enemy of recyclers) and similar products, it seems overwhelmingly difficult to try and realize his vision. Part of me insists that the pace of scientific discovery is such that the answer is within our reach, but a lingering pessimism also makes me think that there is no way it'll happen in my lifetime. What would be the shelf life of an inexpensive bowl that you can eat? Would its production end up being more environmentally unfriendly? Will we ever get off of our plastic/petroleum addiction?
Doubt aside, I really admired the way Yunus spoke about what it meant to be a thoroughly socially-minded business. One of his funnier points was to do the exact opposite of what big banks do, but I also like how he emphasized the importance of constantly improving towards a sustainable goal – no matter how improbable it seems. His anecdotes shed light on how success in the non-profit sector involves a balance of self-criticism and optimism. The lecture really got me thinking about the aspects of my work which could (and should) change.
Here’s to nutritious packaging.
