Plastic Food—It's OK

A co-worker at our company's office-warming party described a restaurant at which "all the food is organic." A guest popped up with the comment that he'd be interested in seeing what inorganic food consisted of. A lively discussion ensued. Organic chemistry, for example, focuses on the carbon compounds of living things and most other carbon compounds. Therefore, does organic food also consist of anything that's carbon based? People joke about that nonfat cheese that won't melt as being "rubber" or "plastic" food. It's clear that both would still be organic; rubber is derived from the sap of the rubber tree, and plastic is derived from carbon-based petroleum substances. Indeed, the Webster's definiton of plastic is "any of numerous organic synthetic or processed materials..." So, got some old, bald tires sitting in your yard? Obsolete polycarbonate items lying around? Eat up—it's all organic!