Can food packaging waste cause irreversible devastation to the environment that we live in and share?
Surely! This is going to happen. You will agree that people in the US are the most overfed people in the world. US citizens including some other developed nations are environmentally conscious. We have the resources and funds to fight against environmental damage from food packag recycling and other advanced means. You may think that I dispose my food packaging waste products and I am healthy and green. You may be doing a favor to the mother earth. You may be the greenest person on the planet. But, what about the huge majority of people.
People who lack basic education.
People who struggle to eat and survive. People who lack resources. People who are environmentally unaware. Believe it or not, disposal of food packaging is a huge issue. It is a matter that threatens the very existence of man. The people belonging to poor nations barely have any laws or regulations against waste disposals. We are moving in a bus at full speed on a path that leads to destruction. It is people like us the most overfed, over sheltered and over clothed that have to ring a bell. Take action before it’s too late.
It is our responsibility that we have to compel nations that need help.
The packaging waste of one-time used food has reached every corner of the World. The manufacturers have created this mess but, let’s face it -- we are all in it together. If you visit Thailand, the old fishermen will tell you that they used to wrap their food banana leaves that they used to toss into the sea. It was a biodegradable waste and was food to marine life. Everyone was happy! Over the past few decades, the rapid industrial growth introduced new materials in the form of plastics, polyethylene and other polymers that have created this huge problem of coastline littered with garbage, in short it is an environmental disaster. Now let us come back to the developed world, UK produces 170 million tons of waste every year, and most of it is thrown away food packaging.
If you are a green person living in the UK, you will find that the country’s landfills are having a tuff time coping with its wastes. It is your chance to be active.
The UK has revolutionary products for food packaging. However, some of it is poisonous, and others never degrade. It takes 450 years to break down a food packaging made out of plastic. You might find this intriguing that there are certain kinds of “innovative” materials that are recyclable but it does not biodegrade. Only a third of the plastic goes through recycling. You need to keep this in mind the next time you drink soda out of a plastic bottle. It is even more intriguing that recycling makes just a tiny piece of the complete puzzle. The developed countries have been aware of the waste problem caused by food packages since 1960.
The direct and indirect impacts of food packaging, as you may know, are soil degradation, water pollution and reduction in Earth’s resources such as forests, solid waste pollution, and toxic chemical contamination.
Is Food Packaging Destroying Your and your Children’s Health? In the previous argument, we discussed that food packaging is destroying the world, but the real destruction does not end here, far away from your home on landfills. It may be killing you and your children. We take it for granted that we make some encounters with food packaging every day consisting of all different types of materials. Eating cereals and corn flakes in the morning from paperboard boxes with milk from cardboard. We have plastic and glass bottles from fruit juices to energy drinks. We feverishly eat delicious hamburgers and sandwiches in polystyrene packages. Eating tuna fish from a tin can for dinner. We have numerous different kinds of food packaging all around us.
It is nice to grab good food eat on the move but have you ever consider that how the packaging material is affecting the food inside it. The same food that we are eating and giving to our kids. You may be conscientious and buy fresh food and recycle but have you ever wondered that how much the food package waste is ending up in the landfills and contaminating the environment.
This is also very important for you to know that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the US government entity that regulates the law that dictates food packaging material that comes in contact with the food during processing, manufacture, packaging, and transportation. An interesting point to know about food package material is that different types of materials offer different advantages. The glass preserves the taste well, and it is chemically not reactive and inert. Conclusively, it does not affect the food inside it which makes it a top choice and environmentally safe. When it comes to the economy, the cost-effectiveness of cardboard food packaging or paper and paperboard is unparalleled in its manufacturing with ease in printing on it. The typical paperboard that you order your lunch in also keeps the package lightweight saving on fuel and in turn transportation cost.
Metallic packaging in the form of steel and aluminum can be used with adoptable shape, and it is very hard for the items held inside it to penetrate its surface which keeps your food well protected. Metallic food packaging is also one of the most environmentally friendly product in the market.
However, it is worth mentioning that many researchers assign the crippling Alzheimer’s disease with the use of Aluminum for food confinement and cookery. Plastics are the darlings of the packaging industry. Plastics have a high molding potential in limitless shapes. They are lightweight, cost-effective, easily sealable and vigorous enough to carry your food. When you take a closer look at plastics and its relationship with food, you will feel content to hear that being a polymer plastic molecules are very big and cannot penetrate into your food like tomatoes and other veggies, when you wrap them with cling wrappers. One a different note, plastic may contain other chemicals may have molecules that are small enough to seep into your food causing contamination. These chemicals may be the ones that are added during its manufacturing process to obtain some of its mechanical properties.
The plastic itself can break down into monomers under certain conditions, it rare but it can happen. The two types of plastics that you should watch out for are the following.
Polycarbonate: This type of plastic is used to create food containers and bottles. It can release a health-damaging chemical known as Bisphenol (BPA). PVC: This hard and rigid plastic has usage in creating many products that come in contact with food such as packing materials like bottles, seals for screw cap jars, cling wraps. Chemicals called plasticizers are added to PVC to make soft and flexible. The plasticizer can make as much as 40% of PVC plastic. Some other chemical compounds are added to PVC to make it useful for food packaging. Recent research raises serious doubts about the safety of these compounds. Being a health-conscious consumer memorize the names of these plastics and watch out for them when the next time you go shopping for stuff that may have plastic packaging.
Food Packaging History
The confinement of food can be traced back to ages. The man used containers that had origins in nature. Things like leaves, hollow logs, animal skin and bones, dried gourds till baskets and pottery came into the scene. Chinese are known to wrap food in treated tree bark and other primitive types of paper materials. If you read the European history, you will find that Napoleon Bonaparte used first mass produced and preserved metallic can food to feed his troops on war expeditions to far-reaching territories. The discovery of Plastics in the 18th century enabled it to be adopted for its use in food packaging. The origin of knowledge for food packaging evolved around that time. Today food products are wrapped in multiple layers of packing before they get from the place of their manufacture to your dining table.
Today the scientists are suspecting that the packaging protection of food from bacterial contamination leads to several other problems.
Why do we Need Food Packaging? Packaging and food go hand in hand. You will never buy food that is not well protected. Even the unprocessed food or the food that goes through minimum processing before it ends on your dinner table like fruit and vegetables require protection. Protection of food and its safety is paramount when it transports to markets where you buy them. It does not require much common sense to figure out that agricultural products like fruits reach your dinner table has to be protected in packaging from wear and tear along with external pressures and vibration of transport vehicles. Similarly, there are a vast number of other reasons behind the fact that as consumers we are addicted to packaged goods, and food tops that list.
The modern industrial age pampers us so much that we cannot drink or eat anything that is being sold out in the open unprotected from the elements of nature.
The food that is laid out open without any covering or packaging provides a good raving for pests like flies and mosquitos. For your information, this does happen in poor and developing countries. Uneducated people do buy food off the street that is unprotected and exposed to pests severely risking their health and hygiene. Advanced methods for food protection like tamper protection casing and packaging also protect us from fraudulent behavior protecting food quality. The packaging of food also creates brand awareness that we get hooked to and buy or at least drool over. We love it, and the food companies love it, everyone is happy! Addition benefits may include protection from external environmental elements such and light, gas, temperature and humidity that may destroy, contaminate or make the food to lose its nutritional value also force consumers like you and me to buy packaged food.
Food Packaging Recycling Limits
Some packages are recyclable indefinitely other may be recycled for two or three times. Have a look at the following list to find out which materials are more environmentally friendly.
Challenges Faced to Cope Food Packaging Problems
Emerging economies like China require much vigilance to overcome this problem that threatens the planets echo-system. You may be astonished to hear that 60% of food packaging has compromised safety when it comes to food products in China alone. From plastic bags, plastic bottles and plastic barrels and food packaging comprises of compromised safety. Some packaging materials containing toxins end up into food packaging after non-regulated processes. Beyond that, the food packages recovery rate is unsatisfactory low. The food packaging standardization processes are prolonged in China, this adds to the problem. It is quite obvious that the food packaging does create a barrier aginst bacterial infection, but another advantage is that food packaging extends the shelf life of the food products. This helps wider distribution of food and reduces food waste.
Even in a country like the USA where the food packaging technology is at its peak, food waste is a huge problem. According to an estimate by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) around 34 million tons of food was thrown away in 2010.
Utilizing the food packaging to reduce one waste problem creates another waste problem, you may find it ironical, but it is a fact that 14% of municipal solid waste generated in the United states came from thrown away food. May be you cannot become a superhero to save the world, but you have your contribution to make. First and foremost is your health and the health of the ones whom your care about. Some best practices can help you avoid any serious health hazards to your health and the health of your family, friends and loved ones.
Our responsibilities towards ourselves and others are shared. We need to take care of ourselves and others to hand over a better world to generations that will succeed us. As the world is getting smaller and smaller and turning into a global village by the advancements in communication technologies and the Internet, we must not forget we can only survive when we work together for our own sake and the sake of others.
1 Comment
Harley
3/31/2022 09:32:02 pm
What a great piece! This gave a ton of insight about food safety in general - I love it. I want to share a company that helped me sort out my community duties and build my club. "Community Club Victoria". https://www.ccv.net.au They understand club needs and provide support and advice to club networks. Once again, thank you
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