Member Article

4.6% Packaging Growth for Ready to Eat Poultry – Let’s Make It Sustainable

Demand for packaging for ready-to-eat poultry applications is projected to grow 4.6% annually to $450 million in 2021 shows a new study “Poultry Packaging Market in the U.S.” from The Freedonia Group.

The report focuses on the change in our life styles. As we become busier and the emphasis becomes increasingly on convenience, our family structure changes and we turn more and more to ready prepared food. While we all know that this leads to more deliveries, store-purchased ‘ready meals’ and a growing interest in fast food that remains nutritional and healthy, we tend to forget the huge footprint that our choices are having on the planet.

The above mentioned report shows how our changing life styles – although we continue to become more environmentally and sustainably inclined – also stimulates demand for a variety of packaging products, including domed plastic containers, trays, bags, and foil containers. All of these are non recyclable, non compostable, and carry with them a heavy impact on our world, ending up in landfills forever.

With an increase in one segment alone – rotisserie chicken and turkey breasts – rising at 4.6% annually, its time that as consumers we take responsibility for not only what we are eating, but how we receive that food. All too often we look for signs of organic, free range and other stamps on the food itself, but are inclined to simply throw the packaging out without a thought.

Sustainably grown and managed bamboo is one option for a lower footprint food packaging option. Bamboo fiber can be grown much quicker than wood, and bamboo based packaging can be completely compostable and biodegradable, making it a far superior environmental choice to plastic. The bamboo plant is not killed when it is harvested, and so bamboo packaging does not lead to deforestation but has been a target for restoration of degraded lands.

As we move towards greater consumer awareness and green living, actively choosing companies that have more sustainable packaging options is ideal. Keep a look out for a healthier option of bamboo packaging, especially for those larger items like rotisserie goods!

We learnt a lot about what makes bamboo a good plant from this Bamboo Blog which includes some videos of why bamboo packaging can reduce some of the issues we are facing today as we move towards a greener, more sustainable life style, on the go.

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This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jennifer Roberts .