The news response from supermarket chains where I live is that individually packaged fruit and vegetables helps reduce supply chain food waste.

Makes sense (e.g. one squashed tomato during transport will only waste one package) - no idea if it is true though.

Why wrap fruits and vegetables at all? They come to the store in boxes that ensure they aren't damaged in transport, I don't see the need for another layer of packaging. The only vegetable I buy in a package is lettuce, which would probably dry out pretty quickly if it wasn't in something.

It might reduce food waste, but it creates plastic waste. I would rather have the former than the latter. Food waste composts, plastic waste does not.

Then put them in paper cradles, like we do with eggs.

Consumers wont buy it if plastic wrapped options are allowed. Clear plastic allows transparency into the object that is being purchased while at the same protecting from external contamination. For example a clear plastic egg carton allows you to see if any eggs are broken without risking getting egg goo on you.

You can look on the underside of the egg carton to see if any of them are wet from broken egg leaking into it, or open the carton and gently lift each egg to see if they stick.

But I do agree that humans are pretty likely to take the easy choice here, which is why we need to take those choices away so we can more easily make the better choices.

So do paper, just open it. Works fine in Europe.

I'm surprised that plastic egg boxes are still legal.

https://www.manchester.gov.uk/directory_record/131223/egg_bo...

It goes straight to landfill/fire and is more fragile than the paper pulp/cardboard counterpart :/

I suspect it just moves the waste, and perhaps more, to the home.

If you now have to buy a kilo bag, instead of the few you think you'll need for the next week or two, you'll probably be throwing some deteriorated produce along with the plastic bags.

For onions and spuds plastic is a poor choice anyway as they should be able to breathe. Better still, unwashed, as with carrots. Why, oh why, do supermarkets insist on washing off natural protection?

> I'm pretty certain individually wrapped vegetables are causing more trouble, than phone packaging.

Unless you are referring to coating with food-grade wax as “wrapped”, individually-wrapped vegetables seem to be by far the exception rather than the rule in supermarkets.

It's to prevent food waste. For example, a wrapped cucumber lasts three times as long.

At what point do we decide that having a one-time use plastic wrapper, that will last a thousand years or so, is worth using to make a perishable good last 3x as long? Was this an issue when food was still grown relatively close to the market in which it was being sold? None of the vegetables at the local farmers markets I've been to are wrapped in plastic, with few exceptions (cut off 1/2 a cantaloupe because it had a nasty bad spot). And the food actually has flavor. The flavor part is what made me actually stop purchasing produce from regular stores. It is utterly bland next to something grown locally that hasn't had the flavor engineered out of it to allow it sit on some shelf (or warehouse) somewhere for a longer period time.

Agreed.

At least standardise on one (recyclable) plastic so its easier to sort.