Nowadays more people are purchasing and eating more ready-to-eat meals in comparison with past. Although processed food might have longer shelf life, which reduces amount of food waste, such food might affect pubic health strongly.
On the one hand, packaged foods are convenient for individuals that have busy schedule. Manyfactured meals can be prepared in few minutes by heating in a microwave and require less cleaning afterwards. Moreover, ready-made meals have a long shelf life. For instance, products such as meat or vegetables can spoil quickly without good storing, while frozen meals can be stored for months, without making consumers worry. In addition, processed food provides access for seasonal veggies. This accessibility is beneficial for guardians that live in a countries that do not have big choise in foods. On the other hand, ready-made food can affect public health. Firstly, ingredients that prepared meals contain are not clear everytime and some components manufacturers hide might link to diseases like diabetes, obesity or heart disease. According to World obesity federation, now 13% of global population is suffering from obesity, which accounts for over 1 billion people worldwide. Another reason why people should use less packaged foods is its high cost. People who order such food do not notice how the prices are increasing higher every month, while they pay for the packaging and the manufacturer’s labor which makes those meals very expensive.
In conclusion, I think that consuming pre-prepared food might be time-saving for population and stay in a fridge for long duration, but still no one knows what manusactures hide about their product and people have to be more careful about their food.