A lot of people are quite perplexed after pre-peeled, boxed avocado halves were spotted at a Sobeys grocery store in Thornhill, Ontario.
Posted by Christine Kizik on Facebook, she said she was "surprised and disappointed" when her friend first shared it.
"Adding packaging to an avocado is strange to say the least," wrote Kizik. "This is wasteful and I'm curious about the reasoning for Sobeys stocking avocado this way?"
With more than 200 shares, many commenters agreed with Kizik's concerns.
"This is absolutely ridiculous... Place a sign and instructions beside the beautiful fruit informing newcomers how to choose and prepare the perfect avocado," said one person.
"I'm pretty sure that package would take longer to open than an actual avocado...that is so ridiculous and wasteful!" said another.
Not to mention the packaging takes away the most satisfying part of avocados: the prep. The halving, the ~thwack~ of removing the pit, the silky-smooth scoring, the final scoop...
You know.
So what's the deal? Is it for lazy people who don't want to find a knife? Is it a gimmick to charge even more for avocados?
Sobeys responded to Kizik's post, saying the goal is, in fact, convenience:
This product was developed for people who might be new to using avocados and for a little more convenience. It eliminates the guess work when it comes to ripeness and any challenges if you are not familiar with peeling and seeding a fresh avocado. The packaging is there to keep the fresh wholesome appearance and quality of the avocado without it browning prior to consumption.
If this all sounds familiar, you might be thinking of the recent controversy at Whole Foods in the U.S. over these pre-peeled, packaged oranges.
If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn't need to waste so much plastic on them.
Whole Foods quickly pulled the oranges after a massive backlash of angry customers asking why they would waste plastic on something that grows its own shell.
BUT, here's something all those angry customers maybe didn't think about: Some people have a harder time prepping produce than others.
As many people with disabilities pointed out, pre-peeled oranges (or in this case, avocados) means easier access to healthy food for some people.
On her blog Crippled Scholar, Kim Sauder wrote that simply writing off these products as wasteful "completely ignores how preprepared food impacts people with disabilities."
As a person with limited hand dexterity, I look at this and see an easier way to eat healthy food. I actively avoid eating oranges, not because I dislike them (they are definitely tasty) but because I have so much difficulty peeling them. Any attempt to peel an orange is likely to result in an unappetizing mess because I've squeezed the orange to hard while trying to maneuver it for peel removal.
So even if it wasn't the store's intention, where you might see unnecessary packaging, someone else might see an easy-to-access snack.
