How we got here. And some of the tradeoffs.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47161379

quote:

In the 1930s, supermarkets were changing - customers no longer queued to tell shop assistants what food they required. They picked products off the shelves instead.

Wait, what? I had no idea that supermarkets were so different!!

Also this:

quote:

But are shrink-wrapped cucumbers really so silly if it means they stay fresh for 14 days rather than three? Which is worse 1.5g (0.05oz) of plastic wrap or entire cucumbers going off before being eaten? Suddenly it's not so obvious.

Ugh.

And this:

quote:

And if your reusable bag is organic cotton, don't feel smug - the researchers reckon they need 20,000 uses to justify themselves. That's a shopping trip every day for over half a century.

Wait, why? The rest of the article was pretty good, but for this one, which is basically treated like a throw-away line, I'd like a little more info.

Still, to use WTG's word, trade-offs, there are lots of trade-offs I'd never considered!

I wonder if food waste is any less in package-happy Japan.

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
And this:

quote:

And if your reusable bag is organic cotton, don't feel smug - the researchers reckon they need 20,000 uses to justify themselves. That's a shopping trip every day for over half a century.

Wait, why? The rest of the article was pretty good, but for this one, which is basically treated like a throw-away line, I'd like a little more info.

I suspect because of it's environmental footprint. Producing cotton uses humongous amounts of water, and tons of pesticides.

quote:

I suspect because of it's environmental footprint. Producing cotton uses humongous amounts of water, and tons of pesticides.

Ahh, that makes sense!!

SK, there was a Danish study that was referenced and a link was included. I didn't look at the study, but here it is: https://www2.mst.dk/Udgiv/publ...78-87-93614-73-4.pdf

I suspect Bernard's assessment is on the money.