Can an earth-loving vegetarian partake in convenience food culture, guilt-free?

Thursday, 17 October 2019

I've been raised amid what I hope is the tail end of convenience culture. We live in an age where consumers now realise their most valuable asset is time. 

'(People) avoid chores that in the past were just part of daily life,' University of Auckland business marketing lecturer Dr. Carlos Diaz Ruiz says. 'Subscription boxes are proliferating because they offer convenience paired with novelty, [adding] little surprises to everyday routines.'

Enter food box delivery services. First-time offers, promo codes and Christmas specials make them even more enticing.

There are downsides, though. The true cost of convenience culture is undoubtedly the environment. The Earth has no say in the plastic-wrapped luxury of western lifestyle and despite our 'clean green' image we are guilty contributors to the planet's demise. New Zealand is one of the highest producers of waste per capita in the OECD, according to the Ministry for the Environment.

**READ MORE:

* Can't be bothered cooking? The rise of convenience foods

* My Food Bag criticised for unnecessary packaging 

* What to do with our five hardest to recycle items**

The next sufferer is us. Obesity rates here are high, coming entwined with issues of structural violence and poverty. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health last year, 34 per cent of New Zealand adults are obese. I'm one of many who have struggled with their weight, meeting with a dietician regularly from ages seven to 13. I've continued to fluctuate since.

Everyone's relationship with food is unique. In 2014 I became a vegetarian after binge watching documentaries that pointed to classes of agriculture like dairy farming as the leading contributor of methane and nitrous oxide, the main catalysts for climate change. I had wanted to cut out meat and dairy since I was 15, but living under my parent's roof and growing up in a dairy farming community slowed that transition considerably.

These days I do my best to eat mostly plant-based, but don't beat myself up at the odd bit of cheese. It's the main way I reduce my carbon footprint. But, while I care about climate change, I also value my spare time, feeling there is never enough of it. It's a taut situation, as seen this week when I sampled a few of the food delivery services on the market.

WOOP: 4 nights for 2 adults = $158

After our first Spanish language class, my boyfriend Will and I arrive back to our apartment at 8.30pm. We're tired, brains at capacity after the two hour class and a full day of work. He has been volunteered by me to trial the Woop meal kit tonight. On the menu is miso seared beef sirloin with ponzu carrots and courgette rice. The company doesn't offer any vegetarian options, so I can't partake. Looking at the instructions, Will reckons it will take him about 20 minutes.

I call Will a part-time vegetarian: he eats and cooks like one at least half the week. He says I've rubbed off on him, turning him into that nagging workmate who laments any single-use plastic at the office.

Sitting with my bowl of corn chips and guacamole on the couch I watch him cringe each time he opens another plastic container of wasabi cream or ponzu sauce.

The rice is pre-cooked, the sauces pre-made and he's correct, it takes him less than half an hour to whip up. While he sits down to eat I have a look at the waste. It's a sad sight, but as I start to rinse the recyclables Will makes a good point: 'how else could they have sent it to us?'

He's right. The beef needed to be sealed so it wouldn't contaminate everything else. Individual glass jars (infinitely recyclable) for a dollop of sauce are probably too expensive. The edamame beans are in a plastic container rather than the original bag they likely came in, which I'm grateful for because our stockpile of soft-plastic recycling is mounting while we wait for the scheme to return.

Maybe I'm being too meticulous? But once you start realising how much plastic is around, you see it everywhere. A relentless Baader-Meinhof frequency illusion. Let me disclaim that I am not perfect, but I do go out of my way to minimise my waste. I frequent refilleries, buy bulk, order paper-wrapped loo roll online, and mostly make my own cleaning products. I realise I sound like a new-age hippy, but if I have kids I want to be able to tell them I did everything within my power to make their world less of a nightmare.

Despite these critiques, there was zero food waste which was a big win. Will felt the meal was nutritious and balanced, but the flavours weren't up his alley. He was pleased with the minimal time it took, convenient on an evening when we arrived home later than usual. Muy bein. 

Taste: 3/5

Ease of cooking: 5/5

Waste: 2/5

Value for money: 3.5/5

MY FOOD BAG - 2 adults 4 nights $123.99

After the gym on Saturday I really don't feel like cooking, but knowing there was a recipe from My Food Bag's new plant-based box in the fridge stopped me from picking up a takeaway on the walk home.

There's nothing quite like frying curry paste until it's aromatic. My flatmates note the kitchen smelled good and I felt smug, if not a little fraudulent, knowing the recipe wasn't mine but Nadia Lim's roast chickpea and cauliflower curry, with pea and spinach rice.

I'm renowned for either gluggy or dry rice, a casualty of my penchant for winging recipes. I'm aware you shouldn't just guess ratios, but I ride my false confidence all the way to failure every time. Tonight I follow the recipe, which reminds me to start the brown rice straight away - handy, because I always forget this type of rice takes forever.

The method is straight forward, although I've never added grated carrot to curry before. Chopping the half-head of cauliflower into bite sized chunks took time. I liked that it said to use the stalk too, minimising food waste. It takes me about 40 minutes in total, minus the dishes.

I share the meal with Will and it's a hit. It could be spicier, but adding some chilli next time wouldn't be difficult. We have enough left over for lunch the next day. There was some minor plastic waste but the spices and rice came in paper sachets, chickpeas conveniently in a can. My only gripe was the plastic-wrapped cauliflower, which seemed unnecessary.

Taste: 4.5/5

Ease of cooking: 4/5

Waste: 3.5/5

Value for money: 4/5

KAI BOX - 2 adults for 5 meals $150

Thai is my absolute favourite cuisine. Unfortunately since moving to Wellington four years ago I haven't been able to find a competitor for Zab Thai takeaway in Christchurch. Some weekends the wait time would be two hours and I wouldn't blink twice, it's that good. Kai Box's plant-based green curry soup comes close to reaching that level.

I'm tired from an 8km run after work and need something hearty to boost my energy pronto. This soup is minimal in terms of preparation. I cut and marinate the tofu with soy sauce and sesame oil, lying it on the baking tray and adding a coat of cornflour for crunch. No one likes soggy tofu.

While that bakes in the oven for 20 minutes I fry the onion and ginger in a tablespoon of coconut milk, a revelation for me - I'd never thought of doing that before. The frying curry paste incites a similar reaction from my flatmates as on the weekend. There is a kaffir leaf to add with the coconut milk and vegetable stock, which the broccoli, edamame beans and spinach simmer in for 15 minutes. I ladle the soup into a bowl and add tofu and coriander to the top. Absolutely delicious.

This meal comes from Kai Box's kickstart low-carb range. The company only offer plant-based recipes, but that's cool with me. You are expected to have some pantry staples, some of which I had to purchase to make the meal, but that meant I could choose glass bottles of soy sauce and sesame oil instead of plastic. The minimal waste was incredible, the only plastic being from the tofu, edamame beans and curry paste. I am a happy camper.

Taste: 5/5

Ease of cooking: 4/5

Waste: 4/5

Value for money: 4/5

HELLO FRESH - 2 people, 3 meals = $94.99

Cheese has always been the dairy I've struggled to give up. Given our lifelong relationship I was surprised to learn something new about it. Soaking halloumi in water? It really did reduce the saltiness and I'm not sure how I missed this previously.

Making salad exciting can be a mission. Hello Fresh nailed it with their halloumi and dukkah roast vegetable salad.

There is a bit of preparation involved with roasting the kumara and cauliflower, meaning this recipe took the longest of all the food boxes. While that cooks away I learn how to make a new dressing with some fried garlic and greek yoghurt. Mixing the greens with vinegar and olive oil is messy fun. The produce is all good quality.

Sitting down to eat, I don't feel like I'm eating a boring old salad. There is a good amount of crunch with chopped almonds sprinkled on top, and the flavours work well together. I eat it all, and there is no food waste.

Hello Fresh could have done more in terms of plastic waste. Again, there was plastic-wrapped cauliflower and yoghurt in a plastic pouch. Being an international company I would have hoped they had the financial means to combat some of these issues. But overall, a tasty, fresh meal.

Taste: 4/5

Ease of cooking: 3.5/5

Waste: 2.5/5

Value for money: 3.5/5

The result

The food box is not for me, but there are days when I'm tempted by it. The ease of it turning up on your porch is enticing. Not having to brave the aisles of the supermarket on a Sunday afternoon is freeing. When you live in the city and don't have a vehicle, grocery shopping can knock out half a day of your weekend. 

Truthfully, I enjoy the independence of writing my own meal plan. Seeing what plastic-free produce I can find at the vege market is a fun game. Visiting refilleries around town has become a hobby. I chat with like-minded people and learn tips from them. Cooking can be therapeutic, and learning more about it on my own terms, rather than having it decided for me, has healed my relationship with food. 

I know I'm privileged to even think about these options. My parents worked over-time for barely above minimum wage, struggled to make ends meet, just to propel me into this luxurious world of choice. 

So I try and slow down, appreciate my position and the food on my plate, divorcing capitalism and the fast-paced convenience it throws me. Food boxes remove the fulfilling exchanges sourcing your own food provides. In this increasingly disconnected world, I'll hold on to what I have left. 

A word from the suppliers

Providing a service that is convenient, fresh, and environmentally friendly is a fine balance, but Woop is working on it, says general manager William Lockie. 'Packaging is something we are very conscious of and we are passionate about improving. Currently we aren't perfect.'

A compostable solution to replace most soft plastics should be in place by the end of the year, but has taken more time than expected. Woop also take back, sanitise and reuse all its ice packs.  Lockie says Woop's door to door services are carbon neutral; they purchase carbon credits to counteract 'unavoidable' carbon emissions. The company offset 145,804 kgs of carbon between June 2018 and June 2019.

Kai Box co-founder John Mellows says its aim is to teach people how to cook plant-based meals and have less of a detrimental effect on the environment. This is why there are no pre-made sauces, rather the ingredients necessary to create them yourself are supplied, resulting in less packaging waste. The company's cellulose spice sachets and un-lined paper produce bags are all home recyclable. Sustainability remains front of mind in their business practice.

My Food Bag says it's pleased with its progress, but knows there is more to do. Most of its packaging has been migrated to paper and biodegradable alternatives. This year the company removed plastic from spring onion and silverbeet, but is yet to find a solution that keeps cucumber, lettuce and bok choy fresh.

Swapping from gel to water ice packs has reduced waste too. The firm says its committed to reducing packaging but mindful of food safety and food quality. Hello Fresh said a recent survey across 2300 of its customers found 77 per cent of New Zealand respondents thought using meal kits reduced the amount of wastage involved in meal preparation.

The company is working on 'a number of initiatives' to reduce the amount of packaging necessary in their boxes.