Earth-friendly additions to campus have caused unwarranted alarm in my daily eating habits.

Across campus, students can now chew their meal with biodegradable forks, knives, spoons and plates — items that were previously wasted in the big bad G (garbage). After using the utensils, students can throw them and any uneaten food into compost bins.

What responsible citizens, I'd say. However, after having collected a biodegradable fork for my pesto pasta, I encountered a rather bothersome realization. My fork began to mold into an awkward shape, causing my pasta to slide off in defeat. I then tried using a spoon to stir my lukewarm tea and it started to bend forward, almost painfully so.

The fact of the matter is that these creations cause more annoyance than environmental benefit. Using a melting utensil will result in using more products instead of being resourceful. More material (biodegradable or not) will be wasted, thus a need to increase productivity will arise.

Why use several deteriorating spoons made from corn when I can use a single functioning plastic one? Or better yet, what happened to the days of metal utensils?

Composting has hit a near cultural phenomenon within the past few years, especially with a renewed spike in environmental awareness on and around campus. From strategically placed compost bins to new 'organic' utensils, doing good for Mother Earth has never been so easy.

But like most trends, composting will come and go. Organic cups will be thrown to waste with Coke cans and plastic wrappers. I can accept this unavoidable fact about trends, but unfortunately, I'm not prepared to see how quickly my 100 percent biodegradable fork will melt when I twirl my pasta ever so elegantly.

I'm all for doing my part in keeping the Earth beautiful, but not at the expense of an unusable product. Plastic utensils can be used with food at just about any temperature, whereas organic products faint at the sight of fettuccini. You do the math.

I guess you can't always have your fork and use it too.