Page 226 - How to Be a Conscious Eater - Making Food Choices That Are Good for You

of ingredients—thanks in part to one of the greatest selling
points of meal kits, which is the transparency you gain into
what you’re eating—and it’s potentially cooked in a way that’s
healthier. (Most people don’t have deep-fat fryers at home, for
instance.)
To truly assess this as a fair fight, we’ll assume you’re pick-
ing both a meal kit company and a restaurant committed to
environmental and social responsibility in terms of sourcing
and operations. So it comes down to packaging. The degree to
which you can recycle all the plastic sub-components of meal
kits varies widely, and my experience is that most of it winds
up in the trash. The gel packs and insulation usually can’t be
recycled at all. Then there’s all the cardboard, which takes a lot
of resources to produce. So, the restaurant wins for sustainability—
if you actually eat your leftovers, that is, to avoid food waste.
WINNER: It’s a tie

ROUND 2: MEAL KIT VS. TAKEOUT
The breakdown regarding healthy eating for takeout is the
same as for restaurant eating—i.e., the meal kit will likely have
better portions, better food, and better preparation.
Environmentally, it comes down to comparing packaging
and delivery modes. Depending on whether you’re driving to
pick up your takeout or
getting it by some other
means, or if you’re using a
delivery app like GrubHub
or Caviar, both takeout
and meal kit poten-
tially involve vehicles
traveling roughly the
same distance, but this
wouldn’t make much of

Stuff that Comes from Factories 215

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