NYTimes blog piece about the packaging of food.
I hate throwing out food. Not for the environmental reason, but just for the stupidity of spending time and money to get the food (travel to the store, gasoline, soak up an hour’s time, etc.) and bring it home and then only to throw it out! Banana peels, broccoli stems, squash and melon rinds, orange peels, apple cores – I’ve accepted that much of fresh produce that I buy and pay for by weight is hauled home and thrown into the compost (oops – I’m a methane source!)
But consider the Costco-ization of our food. Buying huge quantities of food because it’s bargain-priced is part of the problem. (yes, you can buy nominally fresh produce at Costco.) But many prefer the Costco-quantity portions because it means you can avoid shopping at the grocery store daily. Although I wonder how much gets taken home and thrown out – even if it does decrease the gasoline-burning trips to the store.
Isn’t part of the locavore thing to be buying your food in small quantities frequently? I can easily get used to stopping at the store on the way home from work to get a few items. Avoids an extra trip to the store. Keeps the supply of food at home relatively fresher – and more likely to be eaten instead of tossed. Yeah, it does increase the commute time. And shopping while hungry is a known problem.