The Conversation
Whole Foods, current masters of WTF shopping (Whole Foods tattoos and asparagus water, anyone?), are under some serious heat for selling individually packaged, pre-peeled oranges. Granted, if they had just left the oranges in their peels, then there would be no need for the incredibly wasteful use of brutally un-biodegradable material — but we’d also miss out on this ultimate SMH shopping moment. And, honestly, we’re pretty entertained by the judge + jury that is Twitter giving the product its own incredulous response.
If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn't need to waste so much plastic on them. pic.twitter.com/00YECaHB4D
— Nathalie Gordon (@awlilnatty) March 3, 2016
“If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn’t need to waste so much plastic on them,” tweeted London-based Nathalie Gordon yesterday, along with the now-viral pic which has received more than 60,000 retweets and just as many likes.
Reactions to the pic were frustrated and fierce.
@awlilnatty Fucking hell. That makes me unbelievably angry actually. Talk about necessarily contributing to plastic taking over the planet.
— Swiftie Be (@StephanieBe) March 3, 2016
@awlilnatty @RalphScenic Have we gotten that lazy and crazy that we can't even peel our own orange? The insanity never stops.
— Suzi ♫ (@MessMakerPro) March 3, 2016
Although some pointed out that it actually is handy for those who might have disabilities that prevent them from peeling the oranges.
.@awlilnatty While I share your concern for the environment and wish they'd found more biodegradable packing this is great for disabled ppl
— Kim Sauder (@crippledscholar) March 4, 2016
And then there are the people who just kinda seem lazy.
@awlilnatty @MShapland this seems pretty handy actually – I hate un-peeling oranges and that's 90% of the reason I don't eat them
— @r4vi (@r4vi) March 3, 2016
Whatever each individual shopper might think, Whole Foods absolutely heard the outcry.
@awlilnatty Definitely our mistake. These have been pulled. We hear you, and we will leave them in their natural packaging: the peel.
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) March 3, 2016
Do you like pre-packed fruit, or is this just too much? Let us know @BritandCo!
(h/t Eater; photo via Nathalie Gordon/Twitter)
Desirée O is a ‘Professional Bohemian’ who loves anything and everything related to the arts, entertainment, and pop culture. She ADORES being a ‘Newsy’ for Brit + Co, covering all of the latest tidbits of awesomeness that you want to read about. When she’s not writing, she’s either making messy art, going on long adventurous walks with her camera, or poking around over at bohemianizm (http://www.bohemianizm.com/). You can find out about Desirée O and her work at http://DesireeO.com/ or follow her on Twitter @DesireeO.