3 ms·

I think the point is the disposable plastic waste is worse than the wasted fruit itself. Fruit is renewable, plastic isn't. (I'm not agreeing or disagreeing,

I think the point is the disposable plastic waste is worse than the wasted fruit itself. Fruit is renewable, plastic isn't. (I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, just pointing out the argument.)

mattnewton 3y ago
It depends on where the fruit is grown. If it’s local, sure, but many are trucked or flown from long distances burning a lot of fossil fuels. There could maybe be a distance the fruit comes from and an increased rate of spoilage in the humid air that makes plastic wrap at least neutral with letting it rot. But my random guess is no one is doing that calculation, they are just worried about keeping their hotel looking nice.
- myshpa 3y ago
  You want to reduce the carbon footprint of your food? Focus on what you eat, not whether your food is local https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local Transport is a small contributor to emissions. For most food products, it accounts for less than 10%, and it’s much smaller for the largest GHG emitters. In beef from beef herds, it’s 0.5%.
  - mattnewton 3y ago
    Sure, we’re talking in the context of fruits and veggies being shrink wrapped to avoid spoilage specifically, not produce vs meat though. In that article it correctly states that the cost of transportation is small across all food types including beef, but in the context of apples specifically it shows the cost of transportation is not only significant to the total cost of the apple, packaging costs aren’t even visible. So the idea that packaging it in shrink wrap to avoid spoilage and transport of more apples actually seems to make sense?
    - myshpa 3y ago
      > packaging costs aren’t even visible. So the idea that packaging it in shrink wrap to avoid spoilage and transport of more apples actually seems to make sense? a) that's per kilogram, and probably not with each apple packaged individually and in plastic b) plastic is inexpensive, but its true cost is not reflected in its price due to externalities (and emissions are not the only one) So ... it's not easy to answer. My point was that whether food is sourced locally or shipped (not flown) from afar may not be the main factor to consider.
bendauphinee 3y ago
But the energy used to generate and transport the fruit isn't necessarily renewable.

I think the point is the disposable plastic waste is worse than the wasted fruit itself. Fruit is renewable, plastic isn't. (I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, just pointing out the argument.)

mattnewton 3y ago

It depends on where the fruit is grown. If it’s local, sure, but many are trucked or flown from long distances burning a lot of fossil fuels. There could maybe be a distance the fruit comes from and an increased rate of spoilage in the humid air that makes plastic wrap at least neutral with letting it rot. But my random guess is no one is doing that calculation, they are just worried about keeping their hotel looking nice.

myshpa 3y ago
You want to reduce the carbon footprint of your food? Focus on what you eat, not whether your food is local https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local Transport is a small contributor to emissions. For most food products, it accounts for less than 10%, and it’s much smaller for the largest GHG emitters. In beef from beef herds, it’s 0.5%.
- mattnewton 3y ago
  Sure, we’re talking in the context of fruits and veggies being shrink wrapped to avoid spoilage specifically, not produce vs meat though. In that article it correctly states that the cost of transportation is small across all food types including beef, but in the context of apples specifically it shows the cost of transportation is not only significant to the total cost of the apple, packaging costs aren’t even visible. So the idea that packaging it in shrink wrap to avoid spoilage and transport of more apples actually seems to make sense?
  - myshpa 3y ago
    > packaging costs aren’t even visible. So the idea that packaging it in shrink wrap to avoid spoilage and transport of more apples actually seems to make sense? a) that's per kilogram, and probably not with each apple packaged individually and in plastic b) plastic is inexpensive, but its true cost is not reflected in its price due to externalities (and emissions are not the only one) So ... it's not easy to answer. My point was that whether food is sourced locally or shipped (not flown) from afar may not be the main factor to consider.

bendauphinee 3y ago

But the energy used to generate and transport the fruit isn't necessarily renewable.