The way forks have changed are indicative of the change in society. From bone utensils to plastic cutlery, humans have drastically changed the way that they consume food. Bone utensils are both renewable and have some kind of permanence, but plastic cutlery is indicative of our wastefulness as a society and our desire to have “disposable” single use products. Plastic isn’t necessarily single use though, as it fails to efficiently biodegrade like paper products; Plastic simply accumulates and becomes an environmental burden of sorts. Plastic may be here longer than us, but we seem to be only here for a short period of time. Humans want convenience and power, no matter how much it seems to damage our planet or how much it appears to be making our time on earth shorter and shorter. Plastic forks exemplify the qualities of capitalism and everything that makes the global economy whole; Supply, demand, mass production, and the like.
