We've all had those days when our efforts to cook a healthy meal go down the drain. Maybe a key ingredient spoiled earlier than expected, or you just got too busy.
A meal kit can help with that.
However, a home cook took to Reddit to vent about a baffling find in their box — a find that spotlighted a pervasive problem in the meal-kit industry.
What's happening?
The original poster had the r/Anticonsumption subreddit buzzing after they shared a photo of how their meal kit packaged one of the recipe's ingredients, two small cloves of garlic, in plastic.
"Microplastic flavored," a commenter quipped.
"This feels super stingy, too. Just send a head of garlic…" another added.
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"The entire concept of a meal kit is in no way anticonsumption," a third suggested.
However, several commenters took issue with that statement.
"For a lot of people, it massively reduces waste and reliance on food delivery apps," one person shared. "It's not perfect, but in a world where people are working 10 hour days to survive, it's better than them buying a bunch of veggies that will rot and then being too tired to chop anything, so they order a private taxi for a burrito."
Why is this important?
The discussion highlighted how one person's journey toward sustainability may not look exactly the same as someone else's. There are many simple ways to make an impact.
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Definitely 👍 But most agreed the meal-kit packaging was a clear example of excessive packaging — a practice that drives costs up for consumers and inundates the planet with waste that sticks around for generations, breaking down into microplastics that can enter our food supply and bodies.
"I bet it's cheaper to send a whole head, unless of course you're using severely underpaid labor," a Reddit user stated. Garlic heads have hulls that naturally help maintain freshness.
Are any meal-kit companies doing anything about this?
Meal kits have a bad reputation for causing a lot of waste.
However, one study found they outperform grocery meals in terms of reducing food waste and "last mile" transport carbon pollution, though they generally have "higher packaging impacts."
Fortunately, many companies are working to reduce this impact.
For example, Green Chef uses paper-based and curbside recyclable boxes and liners. While it acknowledges on its website that it has "some work to do on our direct food packaging and ice packs," it claims to be seeking solutions that "balance food safety, quality, and sustainability."
Blue Apron's meal kits also received praise from CNET as recently as 2024 for producing the least amount of plastic waste.
What can I do to reduce mealtime waste more broadly?
On a personal level, whether meal kits become a net positive or a net negative for the environment depends on your lifestyle and how your choices balance out. If you decide a meal kit is right for you, seek out a service working to reduce or eliminate plastic waste.
You can minimize plastic use in other areas as well.
Shopping with a reusable bag and swapping single-use plastic water bottles for a refillable one are simple, cost-effective ways to cut down on plastic consumption.
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