There has been an increasing popularity of using plastics in many companies, particularly in the food and beverage industry. This development has certain advantages; however, I believe that there are more drawbacks, making it an adverse trend.
There are two main factors of this beneficial development. Firstly, the processes of food preservation and transportation are more convenient and safer because of plastics’ durability. For example, comparing with materials made of glass or paper, plastic packaging can bear high moisture levels as well as physical damage more effectively, which leads to better maintenance of food and beverages, especially in long-distance transportation. Additionally, using plastic to package products also helps businesses more profits. Companies can buy a large number of plastics since they are more affordable than other materials which require many steps in manufacture. Hence, packaging costs for firms can be reduced, customers also get products at a more reasonable price. This attracts more consumers for their businesses, helping them develop more.
Nevertheless, the progress of using plastic packaging brings several threats. One of the significant undesirable impacts is that these containers have low heat resistance because industries use low-quality plastic in manufacture. Therefore, at high temperature, plastic materials can release damaging chemicals into food, which leads to many health issues and eventually cause cancer. Besides, there are individuals throwing disposable goods indiscriminately, most of them are made of plastic, which needs a long decomposition process and can result in water and soil pollution. For instance, millions of marine creatures are dying from swallowing plastic bags floating on lakes or oceans. Consequently, our green planet will soon become a huge landfill site and species on Earth will be affected.
In conclusion, although using plastic containers in the food industry are convenient and economical, I still consider this to be negative progress due to its effects on people’s health and the environment