> Why does my cilantro need to come in a plastic bag?
Everything here is hugely regional, but two answers spring to mind:
1) coriander is frequently sold in unpackaged bunches, typically larger than the packaged ones;
2) it's packaged in plastic because then it can be filled with some inert gas that prolongs spoiling, it's not completely obtuse.
(In the UK for example Waitrose sells it growing reared in Sussex, or packaged grown idk Spain or Monaco or somewhere; Sainsbury's sells it similarly packaged or cut and bunched of undisclosed origin.)
The big takeaway from the Silo book matched the motto of restaurant Noma - "Time and place" - to eat locally and seasonally. So much of the carbon footprint of food comes from not eating locally or seasonally. For example, getting an avocado toast in November here in NYC requires putting an avocado on a 747 and flying it around the world. And, yes - in places like the UK or Denmark or New York, that can mean that fresh foods in Winter are scarce - but that's where fermentation can be a fascinating area of exploration (and, a related passion of mine right now).
I don't share this to create a sense of guilt or scarcity. We have oil now and can get coriander and avocados in the Winter. That means it can be from a position of fun (and privilege) that we can explore alternative ways to eat. But, our ancestors still ate without 747s. Constraints drive creativity - and exploring these areas of low-carbon eating now can drive innovation that helps us cope with with a more low-oil world.
Eating local has a very small impact on the greenhouse gas emissions associated with food, because transportation makes up a small part (~10% on average) of the total. Most foods, avocados included, are sent via ship not airplane. The actual foods you choose to eat (e.g. more vegetables, less beef) has a significantly greater impact than where they are coming from.[0]
Everything here is hugely regional, but two answers spring to mind:
1) coriander is frequently sold in unpackaged bunches, typically larger than the packaged ones;
2) it's packaged in plastic because then it can be filled with some inert gas that prolongs spoiling, it's not completely obtuse.
(In the UK for example Waitrose sells it growing reared in Sussex, or packaged grown idk Spain or Monaco or somewhere; Sainsbury's sells it similarly packaged or cut and bunched of undisclosed origin.)