Packaging material used by various clients to increase the look, shelf value, perceived value, and shelf life of their products is actually doing more harm than any good to the consumer, environment, and farmers.
First, to increase shelf life of perishable goods, we use pesticides, preservatives, wax, GM them. That’s the first distortion with nature.
After that, to feed the frenzy of consumerism, we make food travel long distances to be available 24 x 7.
Nature says, fruit that grows naturally in a geography in a season is best consumed locally. That’s why nature made things perishable.
But in our endeavour to McDonaldize everything, we created frozen, packaged, heated, packaged, treated, packaged products.
We lost our connect with nature. Farmer and food became another product produced in mass factories—yeah, meat too is a food.
Localization of food supplies is the mantra.
Global practices, local sourcing is the key to reduce packaging waste.
Why do we need packaging waste?
Why can’t technology offer recyclable solutions?
Why can’t milk be sold in bottles and small aluminium cans?
Why can’t lentils, sugar, groceries be sold from dispensers and taken by customers in containers?
Why can’t retail giants deliver groceries in such containers?
Why can’t these containers be sold as part of a membership package?
These are the questions that Big Basket, Grofers, Zomato, Swiggy, Big Bazaar, Reliance Retail need to answer. The aggregators need to answer.
The manufacturers need to answer. Their owners and shareholders need to answer. To consumers and law enforcement agencies.
Brands need to invest in recyclable, reusable packaging solutions.
Brands need to start getting into micro modes rather than mega.
Say no to mega factories, mega farms. Economy of scale is a disaster.
It wastes huge quantities of food and unnecessarily drives down the price of produce.
Words like competitive advantage, economy of scale, and global markets have done more harm to the world by making companies invest in innovative packaging solutions, which are essentially more plastics, new plastic, plastic waste.
It’s time for all stakeholders to wake up to the real challenge. Else, as always, someone will disrupt the applecart and you’ll be gone before you flinch.
Say no to the single-use packaging menace.
Say yes to reusable, recyclable solutions—ideally biodegradable.
Always remember: Nature packaged everything for maximum shelf life.
Don’t try to play God with nature.