Last week, the Twitterverse became enraged after advertising copywriter Nathalie Gordon posted a photo of pre-peeled, plastic-packaged oranges. "If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn't need to waste so much plastic on them," tweeted Gordon in a post that soon went viral. To make matters worse, these decidedly "unwhole" fruits were being sold by the grocery chain Whole Foods. As American consumption of fruits and vegetables continues to lag behind recommended amounts, companies selling prepared produce are hoping that skipping steps like peeling, cutting or chopping will make people more likely to buy their products. People began to argue with others about the growing issue of laziness in America. While there is the issue of the waste created with easy access products like this, people with mobility issues thank the heavens every time they don't have to use fine motor skills. Jennifer Hacker, a woman with peripheral neuropathy and poor grip strength says, she has stopped cooking anything that needs to be chopped or sliced first because the pain is so bad. Without pre-prepared fresh foods, Hacker says she's relegated to the frozen foods aisle for her grocery shopping. She could also choose the syrupy, sweet canned citrus or overcooked, tinny green beans.
I hope that in the future we can find a way for everyone to have easy access to fresh fruit and veggies. We have pre-cut apples, baby carrots, and bagged salads all of these are also sold with less packaging and more preparation, but we are used to seeing them in stores. I hope that in the near future that there is a more favorable product to package foods in, because waste (specifically plastic) is become a large problem.
This is a weird issue, but one that pertains to all of us. I don't know how I feel about these oranges but its interesting.
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