Can these be fed to the cows?

"We will never buy disposable plates ever!" Declared my younger one.

"I can roll with that", I said.

Frankly, I too find dispatching a plate to the landfill only after one brief usage utterly disconcerting. Using paper plates only trades guilt for leakage!

While the stainless steel and china plates are fine for everyday dinner, they are just not the thing for travel or outdoor eating. Plus doing a boatload of dishes after a casual summer party.. who would be game for that?

Thus began our quest for environmentally friendly disposable plates. One fine day, we were at our neighborhood trendy organic supermarket. My daughter found the 'perfect' plate. It looked just like plastic, sturdy yet light and water repelling! "It is made out of corn fibers", a helpful associate educated us. "You can compost it". "At seven bucks for a pack of ten, it better be!" I muttered under my breath!

"Can these be fed to the cows?' I asked the associate with all sincerity. "Excuse me?" said the perplexed associate! "Never mind him", the older one jumped in. "He loves to ask these odd questions"! I am certain, she wanted to say 'weird' but settled for 'odd' out of respect for her old man!

"Dad, whats up with you? why would you feed a plate to a cow?" both of them asked in almost unison. My mind had gone back in the past!

It was a very common practice in my grandparents house to have the food served on plates made with Palash (Butea monosperma) leaves. These leaves are a perfect plate material, nicely round-oval, sturdy, with 4 to 6 inches in diameter, they repel water and do not tear easily.

I remembered going leaves hunting in the pastures with my cousins and returning with a treasure trove of choice ones. My grandmother's father, a stern old man of few words, stoically turned those into plates and bowls, all the while teaching us to carefully select the right leaves and stitch those together with sticks made out of dried sorghum stalks. The trick was to overlap the leaves just enough to form a leakproof base while being efficient so as to churn out as many plate as we could from the gathered stock.

After the meals, the plates would be folded up and fed to the cows or buffalos in the backyard. Anxious moos and vigorous shaking of their heads showed their impatience as we walked toward them. Their gratitude was expressed by licking our hands with their rough tongues. If we were in the mood, hugs were exchanged with the animals. Even head butts with the little calves!

In the era of designer dogs eating designer dog food, how do I explain to my kids a pet that eats plates, butts heads and grows up to provide either milk or labor?