One Man's Struggles To Adapt In A World With No Automatic Straws

Nevin Barich

Nevin Barich

LOS ANGELES , August 12, 2019 () – Last weekend, I went through the drive-thru at my local McDonald’s, ordered my Combo meal, drove home, put my meal on the kitchen table and took out a Big Mac, French fries and large Diet Dr Pepper. I was ready to enjoy my lunch when I reached for my soda and found a crucial item missing:

A plastic straw.

And I let out a heavy sigh and my shoulders slumped a little.

You have to forgive me. I’m struggling to adjust to this new world. A world where fast-food restaurants no longer automatically give you plastic straws when you order beverages. Now you have to ask for them. It’s part of some “stop using plastic” initiative that is supposed to help the planet. I’m not sure how the planet’s benefiting from this, but I’ll tell you one thing: It ruined my lunch.

You have to understand: I just turned 40 years old. Since 1979, I’ve only known one way when it comes to straws: They get handed to you when you order beverages from restaurants. It’s just the way it’s always been. You can’t just one day tell me “sorry but from now on you need to ask for a straw” and expect me to quickly adapt. I’m a creature of habit, afraid of change by nature. I like my routines, my bubbles, my ruts. I like my plastic straw to automatically be in the McDonald’s bag. Effect on the planet be damned.

I know. It’s selfish. It’s not hard to ask for a straw. Heck, it’s not a big deal to go without a straw. I just drank the Diet Dr. Pepper straight from the cup on that faithful Sunday. This is what they called a “first-world problem.” There are worse things to deal with. I get it.

But there’s a lot of you who feel the same way I do. You miss your automatic plastic straws. It was comforting, reassuring. It felt like someone was looking out for you every time you ordered a beverage. Maybe lesser use of the straws would help the environment, but it’s at the expense of our happiness.

It’s at the expense of the only world we’ve ever known.

Nevin Barich is the Consumer Products Analyst for Industry Intelligence, which can help YOU better address your own industry challenges. We invite you to come take a look at our service.Call us today at 310-553-0008 and we’ll schedule you for a 15-minute demo.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.

Share:

About Us

We deliver market news & information relevant to your business.

We monitor all your market drivers.

We aggregate, curate, filter and map your specific needs.

We deliver the right information to the right person at the right time.

Our Contacts

1990 S Bundy Dr. Suite #380,
Los Angeles, CA 90025

+1 (310) 553 0008

About Cookies On This Site

We collect data, including through use of cookies and similar technology ("cookies") that enchance the online experience. By clicking "I agree", you agree to our cookies, agree to bound by our Terms of Use, and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. For more information on our data practices and how to exercise your privacy rights, please see our Privacy Policy.