Plastic Packaging could be the answer to world hunger! What if we could utilize packaging to ensure the foods that are produced reach more people? Foods that are packaged properly can be shipped to the people who need it and can last 30 years or more.
Have you ever thought about the amount of food that is wasted each day? Many people don’t think twice about the food they throw away. There are millions of families that go hungry on a daily basis. The U.S. Food and Agricultural Organization estimates that 870 million people worldwide are undernourished.
So, are you asking yourself how plastic can help? There are many ways plastic products can be utilized. Plastic packaging can be a solution to keeping our food fresh longer and free of contamination. Consumers can store food leftovers in plastic containers; these containers can be lightweight and easy to carry on your daily commute to work. Plastic containers can also be utilized to store leftovers for a meal later in the week.
You may think that plastic packaging only helps save food for leftovers, The Industry Council for Research and Packaging also tells us that flexible plastic packaging helps the environment. This type of packaging helps reduce in-store waste from 3% to less than 1% by increasing the shelf life of food products. This also helps us to feed more people.
Did you know that plastic production has evolved to allow us to bring home more food with less packaging over the years? Just two pounds of plastic can help you bring home 10 gallons of soda, juice, or water. If you were to use traditional material to bring home the same product you would need 8 pounds of steel or over 40 pounds of glass. Plastic Water bottles are being produced that use 50% less plastic than regular water bottles. Thin walled water bottles utilize less petroleum, which is friendlier to our environment, and more cost effective.
The United Nations released a report that suggests that curbing hunger isn’t a matter of producing more food. The problem of food waste is that we need to find a way to preserve and distribute the food currently being produced. Plastics can be the answer to our problem.