No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process

Plastic bags are a symbol of the most common consumer product and one that causes irreparable environmental harm. In addition to choking turtles and wreaking havoc in sea life, little pieces of plastic wind up being eaten by fish and then end up in our food supply. They also float into trees. Therefore, these items, which we hardly consider, are a blight upon our planet. The plastic bags are the ultimate example of a throwaway product that we do not need and that makes our impact on the planet unsustainable.

The author turns to eating sustainably, so he must eat locally produced, in-season food. When he goes to the farmer’s market in New York, he returns home with cabbage and a few other items, and he must learn how to cook with them. The cabbage salad is a symbol of the way in which he must reinvent the way he cooks and eats.