Why is so much food packaged in plastic? I understand it’s probably cheaper than using wood or metal or other forms of packaging but it’s just so wasteful. I think people would prefer more “premium” packaging materials as well.
In: Culture
The real reason is that plastic provides the best shelf life. Modern packaging is very sophisticated in directing moisture and air in or out as required, shielding the food from radiation that would degrade the food, etc. As an example, bananas would never make it to North America green if it were not for the special plastic wrap that is around them in their shipping boxes (which they are removed from as the produce clerk puts them out in the display). While people are often concerned about the apparent wastefulness of plastic packaging around food, and even greater waste is spoiled food thrown into the trash. And a lot of that plastic is recyclable and also made from recycled plastic, with the industry working to increase those stats constantly – it’s not as wasteful as you might think.
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