That selfish Ayn Rand

My co-worker is reading Any Rand. He is reading The Virtue of Selfishness. Now, I don't know too much about Ayn Rand. She is considered a major proponent of capitalism and throughout her various texts classifies the male sex as heroes, meant to be looked up to by women. She is also considered an intellectual, and honestly, anyone considered an intellectual automatically receives a bit of discredit in my book. It's just so haughty.
Ayn Rand is also described as a feminist and a radical thinker, but she blatantly states that homosexuality is immoral. Whatever Ayn.
The fact that my co-worker is reading The Virtue of Selfishness, did spark a conversation between us, similar to a few I've had in the past week(s).
I sometimes feel selfish. Like when I drive my car or buy packaged cookies or refuse to share something. And I guess I could be considered selfish because I want clean air and water and food. I want those things for myself, but ultimately I want those things for the Earth. My selfish desire for toxin free produce and unobstructed bike lanes throughout the city are nowhere near as bad as selfish desires, often self fulfilled, by most people in this culture. They selfishly scarf down burger kings and arbys without thinking of 1) the animal they are consuming 2) how eating that animal affects the earth 3) about the people working that shit wage job to serve them that slaughtered cow meat or the people working that even shittier paid job to make the cardboard box they put the burger in. They don't think about any of those things, and they probably do not see their fast food consumption as selfish. They buy their fast food then drive their big car home real fast to feed the kids before american idol starts. I'm sure selfishness is not at the forefront of their mind, but they are still moving through motions without consideration.They are still partaking in highly destructive behavior that does not benefit their bodies, their wallets, their brains, or most importantly the Earth. I understand that they are doing what they were taught repeatedly. There is a way to break out of that mindset.
We could consider everything we do selfish. Like eating a tomato. Even if we grew that tomato ourselves, we could still be really extreme and call it selfish because we ate to for ourselves with no other reason than because we were hungry. But that's absurd! There has to be a line drawn. What it really comes down to is if you're going to partake in selfish acts, you can deny them, exploit others, and remain in your own self centered world, OR you can be proactive about semi selfish acts, and at the heart of those acts remain mostly dedicated to wanting those things like healthy soil, not only for yourself but for the Earth and all the plants and animals, human and non alike.