{"id":10350,"date":"2014-09-04T14:42:17","date_gmt":"2014-09-04T21:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.happycow.net\/blog\/?p=10350"},"modified":"2014-09-04T15:01:16","modified_gmt":"2014-09-04T22:01:16","slug":"checkout-this-vegan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.happycow.net\/blog\/checkout-this-vegan\/","title":{"rendered":"Checkout This Vegan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"cross<\/a>While checking out at the grocery store, many vegans are starting to get grossed out about placing their groceries on the checkout counter belt. Notice how dirty the belt (that we place our groceries on) is at both the normal checkout and self-checkout? Some vegans might not care, but this was a topic of\u00a0discussion in a Facebook group that got over 300 likes and a zillion comments, with some helpful and hilarious suggestions.<\/p>\n

Clean checkouts are obviously not just a vegan issue, so we can raise awareness for\u00a0everyone that is trying to stay healthy. Surfaces can harbor staph or MRSA, among a plethora of other microbes and bacteria. You can Google \u201cSurface Bacteria\u201d for more info:<\/p>\n

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http:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/chq\/Pages\/how-long-do-bacteria-and-viruses- live-outside-the-body.aspx<\/a> http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.ca\/2013\/12\/27\/how-long-can-germs- live_n_4509419.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Per the Facebook thread on June 27, 2014, vegans that are Level 5* and over brought to my attention that they want to avoid placing their organic broccoli down in carnivore juice or schmutz. Most of our plant food needs to be weighed, so the scale is yet another surface that will be cleaned by our vegetables. Don\u2019t clean your scale with my kale!<\/p>\n

These belts and surfaces can be contaminated with all sorts of germs and bacteria. Ew! We can call it “Belt Funk”.<\/p>\n

Checkout counters aren\u2019t the only places or counters we risk possible contamination:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is like at the sandwich place, when they slide the paper past the tuna and mayo…risking just a corner of it touching that tuna salad…AAAAAUUUUGGGGH…and then I ask for a new paper or I have to give a seminar before they start, often in 2 languages.\u201d – Michele the Trainer (I think the mayonnaise would have grossed me out when I was an omnivore!)<\/p>\n

\u201cI ask them to use a clean knife at the sandwich shop.\u201d – Alexander R Cervantes** (Good idea!)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here is the summation of some of the great ideas to avoid dragging our food over the Belt Funk:<\/strong><\/p>\n