Posted by Snow in 
Fast food is not as fast as you think. The “Slow food” movement will gain legs when people understand what the slowness means. The processing and packaging of fast food ingredients takes time and instills an expiration date on the “fresh” ingredients. Did you know those tortillas traveled by pallet and were left on slabs out in the open?
The above image was taken in a parking lot of a shopping mall (corner strip mall) the site of which is common across America. Three to four trucks a day pull up to each fast food place in the mini mall and unload their diesel powered delivery of condiments, shredded cheese, and individually wrapped creamers and sweeteners. Pallets full.
This pallet of wrapped cardboard boxes houses boxes full of smaller wrapped packages of tortillas. This, in a strip mall, in parking lot 200 feet from the entrance to a grocery store. And those trucks deposit their super packaged super wrapped super pallets nightly too. Acres of cardboard, bulk packaging flats, paper dividers, plastic liners, and separators get thrown out every day.
These boxes hold tortillas. That means in tortilla terms, the tortillas on the shelf at the grocery store may be thrown out or expired, while the tortillas boxed and over packaged (to preserve freshness!!) in the pallet traveled by diesel engine on highways full of chuffing, puffing vehicles. Freshness never generated so many carbon footprint flat feet.
Think of the refrigeration cost to keep these goods “fresh” for several days. Think of the labor involved moving it, mostly by electric forklift and lowering and raising bridge on the back of the truck. The boxes are printed. The traffic on the highway was congested, with many such trucks idling smoke into the air.
While the fast food restaurant staff work with the newly arrived shipment, cars wait in the drive-through to put in their order. Idling car engines from residents living mere blocks away. There is plenty of parking in the lot availabe, and plenty of space to dine in the interior of the fast food place.
Think of the litter created just unwrapping each batch of materials for use, on the hour. Think of the bags of trash and waste created before one part of the food entree or meal order has been served. think of the napkins and wrappers for the food that also go into the bin. And the uncompostable waste that gets thrown out as well.
Think of the garbage trucks gathering this waste in subsequent days. Then multiply it by every commerce establishment in every strip mall, the city over, then the state, then throughout the country.
Then think about walking to the grocery store and buying some organic produce and fruit and having a wrapperless day. Take your green grocery bag, get one at the store, or borrow a neighbor’s. And hope that your sponsoring of organic local produce versus interstate diesel trucking will take effect.
RSS Feed