Bored Panda
30 Times Food Packaging Was So Wrong, People Couldn't Stay Silent Any Longer

30 Times Food Packaging Was So Wrong, People Couldn't Stay Silent Any Longer

310
85
We know what a lot of you Pandas are like. You care about Mother Earth and its delicious bamboo groves, lush forests, and comfy nooks and crannies where you can nap. So you recycle. You also cycle to work instead of driving your Pandamobile. And you buy products that are more eco-friendly and use less plastic. Because every little step really does matter.
But let’s face it, if you’re like us, sometimes when you walk into a grocery store you might lose hope when you spot just how much unnecessary packaging is used to pack some food products. And by unnecessary packaging, we mean U n N e C e S s A r Y to the point that you feel all of your environmentally friendly actions suddenly mean very little when faced with systemic issues on an industrial scale.
We wanted to show you just how plastically insane things can get, so our bamboo-loving Bored Panda team hiked all through the internet wilds to bring you the most egregious examples of wasteful food packaging. Have a scroll down below, upvote the pics that made you want to throw your recycling bin at somebody, and let us know how you feel about all of this plastic waste in the comments.

#1 Ridiculously Redundant Over-Packaging

Ridiculously Redundant Over-Packaging
Report
223points

#2 Hong Kong Supermarket Selling Individually Plastic Wrapped And Boxed Strawberry. For $21. One Strawberry

Hong Kong Supermarket Selling Individually Plastic Wrapped And Boxed Strawberry. For $21. One Strawberry
Report
222points

#3 Replacing The Egg Shell With More Plastic To Go Into The Ocean

Replacing The Egg Shell With More Plastic To Go Into The Ocean
195points

Setting aside the practical long-term economic and ecological worries that we have for our own survival, we have to realize that our attitudes toward our environment, plastic pollution, and consumption reflect who we are inside.

Not to sound too cheesy (don’t worry, it’s vegan), but the fight for a clean and healthy planet is also a fight for our very souls. We can either live wastefully, destroying everything around us for short-term pleasure and profit or we can choose to live with wisdom, respecting our role as a part of nature. Now, this certainly doesn’t mean living as ascetically as a monk would, but it doesn’t hurt to have a more minimalist outlook to counter the throwaway society that we live in.

#4 Packaged Chopped Parsley

Packaged Chopped Parsley
195points

#5 Plastic Has To Removed From Every Single Mini Sausage Before Cooking

Plastic Has To Removed From Every Single Mini Sausage Before Cooking
194points

#6 If Only Oranges Came With Their Own Protective Packaging So We Didn't Have To Use Plastic

If Only Oranges Came With Their Own Protective Packaging So We Didn't Have To Use Plastic
Report
191points

Single-use plastics currently account for more than a third of all plastics produced each year. What’s more, 98 percent of single-use plastics are manufactured from fossil fuels. Tackling this issue, then, is a vital part of protecting our environment and our future. The BBC reports that an analysis of the business network behind plastic production found that a mere 20 companies are the source of more than half of all the single-use plastic items that are thrown away all over the world.

#7 Individually Wrapped Grapes In Japan

Individually Wrapped Grapes In Japan
170points

#8 Your Coke Needs That Plastic

Your Coke Needs That Plastic
157points

#9 The Three Layers Of Plastic Protection For These Oranges. How Is This Even Allowed?

The Three Layers Of Plastic Protection For These Oranges. How Is This Even Allowed?
155points

“Plastic bottles, food packages, and bags are among billions of items that are used once and then thrown away, often ending up in the oceans,” the BBC writes about the impact these companies, the largest producer of single-use plastic of which is ExxonMobil, have on the world.

#10 Such A Waste Of Plastic

Such A Waste Of Plastic
Report
145points

#11 Asparagus Water???

Asparagus Water???
140points

#12 What Can You Even Make With 1 Tomato?? The Styrofoam Bedding

What Can You Even Make With 1 Tomato?? The Styrofoam Bedding
133points

According to the research, conducted among others by the London School of Economics, part of the increase in single-use plastic waste is due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with protective and medical equipment having to be discarded for health and safety reasons.

#13 I Can’t Even Imagine How Much Plastic Waste Is Just Sitting In Landfills Because Of Pointless Things Like This

I Can’t Even Imagine How Much Plastic Waste Is Just Sitting In Landfills Because Of Pointless Things Like This
129points

#14 Pre Peeled Bananas In Plastic. There Is So Much Wrong With This!!

Pre Peeled Bananas In Plastic. There Is So Much Wrong With This!!
126points

#15 Spraying Water Over Vegetables Wrapped In Plastic, Complete Waste

Spraying Water Over Vegetables Wrapped In Plastic, Complete Waste
125points

The United Kingdom is in fourth place in its plastic consumption, with each citizen generating over 40 kilograms of single-use plastic waste per year. Australia is in first place, meanwhile, the United States stands in second place.

#16 Looks Like Some People Are Still Grapeling With Their New Year's Resolutions

Looks Like Some People Are Still Grapeling With Their New Year's Resolutions
117points

#17 Harry & David Strawberries

Harry & David Strawberries
114points

#18 Wouldn't It Be Nice If Fruit Like Bananas Had Their Own Natural Packaging To Help Reduce Plastic Pollution?

Wouldn't It Be Nice If Fruit Like Bananas Had Their Own Natural Packaging To Help Reduce Plastic Pollution?
Report
110points

Essentially, what the report showed is that the future of the plastic waste crisis lies in the hands of a handful of companies. Therefore change that affects our environment on a global scale ought to start from there.

#19 This Is Some Next Level Laziness

This Is Some Next Level Laziness
110points

#20 My Wife Wanted Peeled Garlic. They Peeled, Then Individually Wrapped Them

My Wife Wanted Peeled Garlic. They Peeled, Then Individually Wrapped Them
Report
108points
310
85