Double Bagged

Does this corn last longer if shrink-wrapped and cushioned in styrofoam? Does it survive the bumps of the road better? Will more people buy it than regular, in-husk, corn?

Three corn cobs neatly packaged in styrofoam and shrink wrap

Let’s go one shelf over.

“Covering the stems on bananas makes them last longer” they say. Okay, sure. But this?

Banana bunches wrapped in plastic bags

I find it hard to believe that the extra materials and time it takes to bag these bananas outweighs the money saved from possible shelf-life extension.

I leave you with one last blood-boiler: The infamous styrofoam egg carton.

Styrofoam egg cartons

Eggshells break more in foam than in plastic or (the champion) cardboard. So why do eggs get an exception[1] in New York’s styrofoam ban?

Many questions. (Probably) few good answers. Much work to do.


  1. eggception? ↩︎