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
It’s important to remember the flipside to ‘premium packaging’- it almost always weighs more than plastic.
Consider a steak. On a styrofoam tray, wrapped in plastic.
How would it be shipped? Paper, probably, but that has hefty environmental concerns as well, not to mention health issues. No one will buy raw chicken wrapped in butcher’s paper from a grocery store. Some of these concerns can be mitigated through better access to locally produced foods, but at this time, most foods are still industrially produced and travel rather long distances.
As for glass and metal, back to weight. We take a step forward in terms of plastic waste, but a step back in terms of shipping – more weight translates directly to increased fuel consumption.
So.
It’s not just cheap, it’s light, and (in some cases) regarded as much better for food storage than some traditional packaging methods.
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