Sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of your Sun Chips bag

It recently came to my attention that Frito-Lay is no longer producing biodegradable Sun Chips bags after a notably drastic decrease in sales correlating with the bags’ introduction. There have been numerous complaints from customers saying that the bags were too noisy.

Owing to an unusual molecular structure, the 100 percent biodegradable bags are far noisier than those we are used to.

Too noisy? First of all, isn’t eating chips already a pretty noisy activity in itself? I see something very wrong here. We scream bloody murder for “green” technology; we publicly yearn to rid the world of non-renewable energy, but what are we willing to sacrifice for these dreams to become realities?

We want to make the world a better place, but not if it disrupts the predictability of our snacking.
My fellow consumers, it’s time to get real about going green.

How can we expect change if we refuse to sacrifice even the most unnecessary of luxuries?

At this point, you’re probably saying to yourself, “Wow, this guy is really pumped up about Sun Chips bags.” But, I’m also using this example as a metaphor for American consumerism as a whole.

If we as Americans aren’t willing to take responsibility for the causes that we are so willing to support verbally, then nothing will happen.

This time we have no evil oil companies to shift the blame on and Big Tobacco has nothing to do with this. It is our fault.

As consumers who claim to support eco-friendly technology, we’ve failed.

Can you see yourself in these words? You should, because right now these words are reflecting who you are more than that mirror above your sink.

This response from consumers showed Frito-Lay and any other company that was considering “going green,” that we are all talk.

We can blame-shift and complain ‘til the cows come home, but when it’s time to sacrifice, to take action, even if it cost our snacking convenience—God forbid—consumers’ support is nowhere to be found.

It’s time to snap out of it, America. It’s time for us, as citizens, to become conscious. It’s time to wake up from this convenience-induced slumber and take charge of our beliefs and our country.

No one will do it for us.