Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Wife, kids, full time job, hobbies.. simply no time or energy to start looking at each item and finding alternatives when finally buying groceries.



The task is simplified to looking at label. Respectfully, if even that is too much, you don't particularly care about avoiding Nestle products at all...


Almost everything can be reduced to "the task is simplified to a simple sounding thing". However, when you have dozens of such things in your daily life to worry about, it stops being so simple.

Also, if someone in my household likes a particular Nestle product, what's the procedure then? Stick to my principles and fight every time? Make an exception for that one? How many exceptions will there be in the end?

Ultimately, I guess I don't particularly care about avoiding Nestle in the end. Not to the extent that I would have to make my life more complicated than it already is.


> Almost everything can be reduced to "the task is simplified to a simple sounding thing".

How? Recycling for example is very complicated, takes time and effort sourcing recyclable things and shipping them for recycling later. Buying things manufactured sustainably is very complicated, because that stuff is not listed on labels in sufficient detail so you need to do actual research. Etc etc.

But here you have two products on the shelf. One has Nestle logo on the label the other doesn't. If you don't have significant issues with your vision, it takes 30 sec top to skim labels and tell which one is which. And the kicker is, you only have to do it once then you already know which logo is Nestle and just don't buy it. And if you as you say already try to be mindful of your diet you are already browsing multiple products looking at labels anyway! So I must be really missing something.

Personally the only reason not to do it is if I am poor at the moment and can't afford the non-Nestle one...


> How?

But recycling is easy! Just put the right thing in the right bin!

You have totally been sidestepping the part where I talk about this small inconvenience in relation to the existing complexity of life. I take it that you don't have small kids, since the thing is that when you do, you in general want to simplify whatever you can.

If one product takes 30 seconds to check and find a replacement (might not always exist!), that's a good 20 minutes on a proper family shopping run. I also don't have a super brain that will automatically remember the manufacturer for some 50 products, so I'd absolutely be stuck with checking each time.

Granted, once it becomes a routine to avoid certain products, it would be rather easy. But to get there would take time and effort that I'd rather spend elsewhere.


> But recycling is easy! Just put the right thing in the right bin!

Maybe if you live in very specific locations like Taiwan. Then yes you shall put right things in right bins, rinse your recycling first, etc. Not because it's easy or quick, it isn't, but because you will be financially penalized if you don't. In many other places recycling does nothing besides make you feel good and get off the case of the manufacturers who save money on plastic packaging and shift the blame around

> that's a good 20 minutes

Only once and only if you don't already skim the labels, which I bet you do if you try to avoid animal stuff in your diet occasionally. The small print ingredients take much longer to parse than an obvious Nestle logo.

I don't have a problem with not caring at all as much as saying that you care but it's too difficult, because in this case it really isnt.





Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: