Prioritising convenience over careful meal planning isn't always the healthiest choice. Yet new figures from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) reveal that purchases of meat-based ready meals have increased by more than a tenth.
It is very disappointing that this article ignores the social and environmental costs of ready meals, as well as the presence of preservatives, colourings and other measures to increase the “saleability” of these products.
Environmental Impact, Ready meals are assembled in large, centralised facilities, probably many miles away from where the individual elements are grown or produced, generating excessive “food miles”.
In order to make each meal look the same, and fit the pack, ingredients will be cut into uniform shapes and sizes. This will generate huge levels of food waste.
Preservatives will almost certainly have to be deployed to extend the shelf life of these products. When buying any ready meal product, it is always worth considering whether the listed ingredients would be found in a kitchen cupboard or refrigerator. If you’ve never heard of it, why would you eat it?
Although the article suggests discarding the packaging and heating it in a glass bowl or saucepan, the discarded packaging still represents an environmental threat from the point of production, right through to disposal.
Social Impact Ready meals, assembled from bulk bought produce from several suppliers, are unlikely to be doing much to help local farmers, who are enduring some of the most challenging conditions of the last century. Supermarket buyers have a very poor record when it comes to ensuring that farmers receive a fair price for their produce. This has led to a record number of social problems, including suicides, and a steadily ageing population of farmers, which is clearly unsustainable.
Despite the low rewards for the producers of the elements that make up ready meals, the price paid by the consumer is, invariably, very high and not reflective of the cost of the ingredients, or their preparation. Supermarkets are, effectively, squeezing producer and consumer to maximise profit, whilst contributing little to the health and wellbeing of either.