Unsustainable practices--what are people thinking!

It never ceases to amaze me. At the grocery store individual potatoes are wrapped in shrink wrap. Why?

In the pre-prepared frozen food section, 'Healthy Choice' now has a new product called 'Cafe Steamers(TM)'. OK it may be old but this is the first time I've noticed it. I bought one (it was on special). Yes it was very tasty but there was more plastic than there was food! Innovative concept having a microwavable steamer but it is sad to see that this product has a huge unsustainable footprint relying on petroleum-based materials. On top of the heavy plastic steamer, the whole package was wrapped in an outer wrapping of wax-coated paper so nothing could be placed in the recycle bin. Conversely Michelina brand of pre-prepared frozen meals uses the box as the cooking container/serving tray. If you have to eat pre-prepared frozen meals, at least Michelina gets kuddos for providing a reasonable balance of individual serving convenience and sustainable packaging and the food is pretty good to, for a frozen dinner.

I wonder if the Healthy Choice brand is more expensive because of its heavy use of packaging. That would make it both unsustainable and uneconomic.

Certainly buying everything in bulk and making meals from scratch may be the more sustainable and economic practice but convenience seems to be part of our mode of operation now days.

Healthy choice has innovative but not sustainable packaging. Michelina uses both innovation and sustainability.

Rosemarie
(Please note I have nothing against/for either of these brands, these are simply observations of packaging practices)