As I stand out in this amazing field of flowers, biodiversity is buzzing all around me. Our impact on the planet, on biodiversity is closely linked with how we produce and package our food. You don’t have to look too far to see the impact of our food system on the local countryside all around us, and the more disturbing images of birds and marine wildlife choking on pieces of our food system.
We are on the cusp of “Plastic Free July”, and in case you hadn’t guessed I am talking about the impact of plastic on our planet and on the creatures and ecosystems we share this planet with.
Plastic is everywhere. Can you really imagine your life today without plastic, look around you, open your fridge, what is not wrapped in plastic?
It wasn’t always like this. But something changed. Plastic has infiltrated every aspect of our lives.
Plastic is a big problem, but it is indicative of a bigger one, the food system we rely on and trust to put nutrients into our bodies has become so disjointed and complex that we cannot possibly begin to know how and where our food has been produced anymore.
When my grandad farmed this land, only two generations ago, food was in the main plastic free.
Don’t get me wrong though I am a realist too and I understand that we cannot return to those days, there simply would not be enough food if we did, but we can certainly make some significant changes to reduce our plastic consumption.
If we follow the trail back though we can see who the clear winners from the plastic revolution are, these are the guys that really don’t want things to change, the same ones that on one hand extoll the virtues of what they are doing to deal with plastic waste whilst continuing to create more and more of it. You know the ones.
The supermarkets, and the giant global retailers, they are the ones that make large amounts of money from the plastic polluting food chain that they have so expertly curated.
Responsibility for change will of course be pushed back onto the consumer, the end consumer they argue are ultimately responsible for their choices. This simply doesn’t cut it I am afraid, giant profitable corporations need to take responsibility for their waste, it is their responsibility to tidy up their own mess.
The single use type plastic, the use for 2 seconds and throw in the bin plastic, it is everywhere and that is the problem. How can this change?
Retailers can start with the fresh fruit and veg in supermarket aisles. (ALL our boxes are PLASTIC FREE and have been since 2018)
There were some serious promises made by large retailers to appease consumer demand after David Attenborough’s blue planet documentary in 2017. Big business has become tremendously adept at hijacking good causes to improve the bottom line (I believe the term is Greenwashing and it is endemic these days) Where are these plastic promises now? What has changed on supermarket aisles? Not very much it would seem.
In March 2018, we said goodbye to plastic for good in our fixed boxes– we were the first company to do that in Ireland. We sourced compostable plant based bags, we launched our ‘Plastic Free’ shopping aisle and we made a commitment to never include any plastic wrapped produce in any of our set boxes ever again.
Thank you in supporting us on our journey.
Kenneth
PS Reuse is so much better than recycling and we have always championed this, our boxes are the ultimate reusable container. We collect them and reuse them every week, and where we can’t we have invested in reusable and compostable packaging.
PPS Can you help us “Save Our Summer” please remember we always see a downturn in our customer base during the summer months when we have the very best Irish produce, head to our website now to see how you can “Save Our Summer”.