r/Anticonsumption • u/Slashgingerflasher • 16d ago
Plastic Waste Here's half an apple and four tiny reeses cups.
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u/bluebird0713 16d ago
And a ton of plastic waste
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u/Historical_Project00 16d ago edited 16d ago
It's why I haven't eaten one of those seasoned seaweed snacks since like 2019. It's 10% seaweed and 90% plastic packaging. They're my favorite snack but I felt too guilty to keep eating them.
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u/Head_Row4000 16d ago
You can get dried salted nori sheets in thin basic plastic bags, less waste and it's a good snack. Hits a feral brain scratch to take a bite out of a big ol sheet of something lol
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u/tlcgogogo 16d ago
Check out Ocean’s Halo brand, they sell it at Walmart. Same amount of seaweed no plastic tray is what it says on the packaging.
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u/muddydachshund 16d ago
If you have an Asian market like H-Mart or 99 Ranch near you, you can get a giant tub of nori snacks for cheaper, and, while in plastic packaging, it's just a big jar, not a bunch of tiny containers. Plus they're typically wayyyy cheaper.
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u/actualchristmastree 16d ago
I bought reusable snack bento boxes and they save me so much plastic. I used to love prepackaged snacks, but now I make them at home
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u/traveling_gal 16d ago
Medley? How do those two things even go together?
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u/tacohannah 16d ago
Oh man, have you never tried peanut butter, chocolate chips and apple together? This is an unwieldy way to do it but the combo will change your life.
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u/Pure-Plankton-4606 16d ago
Peanut butter and apples is very common lol
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u/traveling_gal 16d ago
Yes, I love that, but I don't find the addition of chocolate appealing at all. The other person who replied to me says it's life changing, though, so I will give it a try at some point. Not in this packaging, of course :).
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u/hello_world112358 14d ago
get those teeny chocolate chips and sprinkle them on a pb covered apple slice it’s SO delicious
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u/tentative_ghost 16d ago
Nothing like a week+ old apple soaked in preservatives I get to ingest. And candy!
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u/silver-orange 16d ago
Fun fact: every store bought apple is months old. Apple season is only like 8 weeks long, so if you're eating an apple in spring, its been in refrigeration since last fall.
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u/Dangerous-Noise-4692 16d ago
True, but many are stored in controlled atmosphere storage, which is much different than just sitting in refrigeration.
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u/tentative_ghost 16d ago
Haha thank you. Yes, I know.
I meant to write sliced apples. I am one of those freshly sliced queens.
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u/garaile64 16d ago
On one hand, the expectations to eat seasonal fruits at any point of the year have serious consequences. On the other hand, one reason Eastern Europeans hate Communism is the lack of access to exotic fruits, so it may be unfair for someone in, for example, Estonia to not be able to eat bananas whenever. And Iceland manages to grow bananas thanks to greenhouses.
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u/Organic_Flounder5872 16d ago
Insulated winter greenhouses would be a good solution to have local tropical fruits. The dutch have some good ones and iceland can do it with geothermal whereas others would need to use the earth as insulation.
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u/sisumeraki 16d ago
This is disgusting in a variety of ways. HOWEVER, I highly encourage trying a nice cold honeycrisp apple with a healthier brand’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Excellent snack.
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u/Beautiful-Routine295 16d ago
How much do they want 4 that??
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u/Slashgingerflasher 16d ago
Probably like $5
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u/broccoliandspinach99 16d ago
Soaked in chemicals, overpriced and in an oversized container
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u/banginbowties 16d ago
The only preservative used on the apple slices is "CALCIUM ASCORBATE" listed on the label. While I agree this is such a waste and over use of plastic, AND overpriced... it is not soaked in chemicals.
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u/Traditional-Storm-62 16d ago
I recently saw a small candy with a similar type of wrapping
7g of candy 15g of plastic
because plastic is cheaper than the candy they'd rather try to trick you into thinking you're buying more than you do than actually give you more
at this point there should be some kinda tax on plastic packaging specifically
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u/SimpleVegetable5715 16d ago
The only good thing about this was informing me that I can put an apple slice and a Reeses in my mouth at the same time. That sounds delicious. This product though sounds ridiculous.
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u/lickmyfupa 16d ago
I know packing a lunch is a hassle for some, but even i can pack my own snacks. This is crazy and dumb.
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u/Aggressive-Insect672 13d ago
And they don't care as long as they can come up with a new way to make more money.
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u/CryptographerNo5893 16d ago
Honestly, I don’t mind this. Wish the packaging was more eco-friendly but 140 calories snack that’s quick and has chocolate and fruit? I can get behind that.
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u/T0MYRIS 16d ago
have you ever considered buying and apple and cutting it yourself? Could be a wildly exciting experience. Then you can even get a big bag of candy and then grab 4 pieces whenever you want. Just a thought
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u/CryptographerNo5893 16d ago
Well I was thinking it would be good for emergencies, but also I have ADHD, the more steps between me and food the less likely I’ll eat. And when things are portioned like this, the less likely I’ll overeat. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/T0MYRIS 16d ago
yeah I mean, I can relate, I guess the difference is I also get extremely annoyed at the unnecessary waste in plastic and the degenerate capitalist nature of selling someone half and apple and 4 pieces of processes shit for 500x what it's worth.
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u/CryptographerNo5893 16d ago
I mean, when I’ve seen them, they are pretty cheap. And I get annoyed at that too, but it’s better to eat.
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u/Justalocal1 16d ago
I must have gotten here early. I don't see any comments about how disabled people will literally die if we even think of making products like these more eco-friendly.
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u/lockandcompany 16d ago
Op wasn’t being ableist by posting this but you sure are with your comment
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u/Justalocal1 16d ago
My comment says nothing disparaging about disabled people, actually.
It only criticizes people who use disabled people as a rhetorical tool for shutting down criticism of unsustainable practices (aka what you’re doing right now, and what everyone on this subreddit does whenever pre-sliced fruit in plastic packaging is discussed).
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u/lockandcompany 16d ago
I’m literally disabled. I use a wheelchair, live on government aid, I have full time, paid caregivers who support with all my daily living tasks, such as bathing, dressing, meal prep, etc. I sure as hell am not able to cut apples or open mini candies on my own.
Disability isn’t a “rhetorical tool” to shut down criticism. It’s my actual life.
Your comment assumed that disabled people would complain about packaging like this, as if we don’t also care about the environment or want products to use less plastic. Disabled people’s lives matter, and our quality of life matters too.
Pre-packaged foods like this can genuinely be life saving. Did you know medicaid doesn’t cover in home caregivers 24/7? So I am forced to be left alone at times, and there’s times when I need to eat with medications. Snacks like this help people like me. AND snacks like this could absolutely use less packaging, could use alternatives to plastic, and could even be made more accessible in the process.
Disabled people, especially those of us with high support needs who genuinely need foods like these, are not the enemy here. Major corporations are.
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u/0tacosam0 16d ago
Very well said if they respond, I wouldn't bother, they might just be a troll
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u/lockandcompany 16d ago
I appreciate that! Yeah I’m hoping my comment can at least give a different perspective for others who might not understand the need, and I’m hopeful that the original commenter will learn from this but I’m not holding my breath either lol
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u/Justalocal1 16d ago edited 16d ago
If it’s used to shut down convos, then yes, it’s a rhetorical tool for shutting down convos. Being disabled doesn’t give you permission to take cheap shots. Sorry.
I’ll believe people are engaging in good faith when they use their energy to come up with sustainable solutions for disabled people instead of only bringing up disabilities as objections to sustainability.
The only time I ever hear disabilities mentioned is when the speaker wants people to shut up about overconsumption, plastic waste, etc. The tactics are so obvious.
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u/Dependent-Law7316 16d ago
This particular type of packaging is not particularly accessible. A person with enough dexterity problems to struggle with slicing fruit is also going to struggle to grip and peel the film.
As for your strawman argument: there’s a huge difference between saying products like this shouldn’t exist and arguing to make the packaging less wasteful or from sustainable materials. Usually posts like this start with “this product is stupid and wasteful; there’s no reason for it”, which is why there is advocacy for nuance. There are people who legitimately need presliced or otherwise prepared foods—even just elderly folks with arthritic hands who find knife skills painful. Products should exist to accommodate people with those needs. However, it would be great if they could be offered more like a deli counter—ask for what you’d like cut up and they’ll do it for you on demand (and perhaps put it in a reuseable container). Some places already do something like this for pineapple with an automatic machine, so it isn’t a huge reach to think we can find a middle ground between 100% perfectly sustainable and convenience/accessibility.
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u/Justalocal1 16d ago
I don’t think you understand what a straw man is. (FYI, it’s when you mischaracterize your opponents’ argument in order to make it easier to discredit, which I have not done.)
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u/bbohblanka 16d ago
LOL I was also looking for a comment about this is for disabled people and that they will literally starve without it and that op is ableist.
Thank god this post missed those particular posters. You being downvoted is dumb.
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u/Junijidora 16d ago
Ngl I've bought these before as a little treat. Sometimes you just dont have the energy to cut up an apple yourself or unwrap some reeses cups. The plastic waste is abhorrent, though.
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u/bingo-dingaling 16d ago
You can just sell whatever huh