I'm Willing to Die to Get Rid of Those Little Stickers on Fruit

I'm willing to die to get them to stop putting little stickers on every single piece of fruit in the world. Someone has to come forward. Might as well be me. My series was canceled, anyway.

The supposed beauty of these stickers is that, if you're poisoned, you have a way of tracing the fruit back to a particular lot, a particular shipment, a particular grower. Of course, this assumes that you carefully removed the sticker and put it somewhere you can find it as you start to choke to death or break out in hives. Right. Then you grab the sticker, make your 800 call or visit the grower's website, and, before your funeral is over, the bad guys are locked up.

It's a beautiful system.

I wonder how much paper is used, and how much sticky gum, in labeling EVERY SINGLE *#@!* piece of fruit in America. Tons and of tons of paper. Tons and tons of adhesive. And how many worker-hours go into applying the little buggers? And how many of our hours go into into removing them?

How many people, for that matter, inadvertently eat the stickers, and then choke to death? There's an under-represented group. Who's looking out for them? I am.

We have a national mania for trying to protect ourselves from, well, everything. This one goes too far. Proponents of fruit-labeling will tell me that if such labeling saves even one life, it's worth it. I dispute that. I'm not so sure. Maybe we need to sacrifice someone occasionally on the altar of common f**king sense.

If I have to be the sacrificial lamb, so be it. It's a far, far better world I go to, where fruit isn't labeled, and I can put my time, money, attention, and paper to better use.

Then let's go after shrink wrap. And aluminum foil under the tops of yogurt. Come on! Ingest a little poison sometimes! Better that a few of us die than continuing to clog our landfill with all the plastic and aluminum that lie beneath the cap of EVERY SINGLE ITEM WE PURCHASE FROM A PHARMACY OR GROCERY STORE.

We can't, and needn't, try to protect each other from the occasional psycho who wants to poison someone. Look at the price we're paying. (And I'll bet someone will write: how can you put a price tag on saving a life?) Better to draw lots, sacrifice the occasional consumer, and let the rest go free. They will thank you, the trees will thank you. Makers of little tiny fruit stickers and shrink-wrap will not.

Comments

[puddytat]

How about getting rid of all that plastic packaging crap that you can only remove with a chain saw? Or should we continue to count the number of stitches people get trying to get their stuff out of that wasteful and frustrating stuff? Or the mountains of plastic that will never degrade and are turning landfills into Mount Everest?

On a better note, my grocery store has canvas grocery bags on sale for 99 cents each to encourage people to use their own bag and save on landfill. Progress a little bit at a time.

[VeggieGal]

I think it's all good. Check out this LA city website: http://www.lacity.org/san/solid_resources/recycling/what_is_recyclable.htm.

Peace!

[VeggieGal]

Perhaps I've received a blow to the head and am not tracking information properly (it could happen), but here is the LA City website I checked (dated September 16, 2007), which says they do accept plastics numbered 1-7 and styrofoam. If I am living in lalaland mentally, not just physically, sorry for the bum steer. But I think I'm right!

http://www.lacity.org/san/solid_resources/recycling/what_is_recyclable.htm

[Cardrvr2002]

Here's hoping the LA city website is out of date. In my town our recycler takes up to grade 7. I use canvas shopping bags, but the grocery stores around here collect and recycle plastic bags. Also some of the mailbox stores will take your used packing peanuts and reuse them. It's a bit of a pain to pack them up, but better that than have them blowing all over the place. Call ahead since not all of the francises will take them.

[VeggieGal]

Good news--in Los Angeles the city has begun accepting styrofoam in curbside recycling bins. They also now take clean plastic numbered 1 - 7 (and more), plus they accept grocery bags and dry cleaning bags. Things are looking up.

I completely agree with you about the hideous stickers. With a screen name like VeggieGal, I've removed more than my fair share of those blasted things. Unfortunately I don't believe they're recyclable.

Thanks for a good laugh!

[StephenCollins]

And thank YOU for the LA information, much of which I didn't know.

[StephenCollins]

I just checked the LA city website, and it says they only accept plastics numbered 1 or 2.

[QuietAmerican]

For the love of Mike -- thank you! I thought I was a superfreak for hating those little labels, too! I am not alone!

[StephenCollins]

Don't know who Mike is, but thanks for the thanks.

[chemicalTurk]

I say get rid of all warning labels and see what happens. Common sense just might rule the day and for those stupid people that use their lawn mower as a hedge trimmer or try and blow dry their hair in the shower the gene pool would just get a little smarter. The "Darwin Effect" would come in to play and the "herd" would not only thin, but get smarter as well. Less people less CO2 foot print = less Global warning effect. Please e-mail me for more world solving advice out of the box.

NO MORE WARNING LABELS!

[Cardrvr2002]

The styrofoam packages are recycleable. Please don't put them in the trash, recycle them. Good for you for reusing the plastic containers, which also may be recycleable depending on the grade of platic, check with your local recycler.

[StephenCollins]

Many recycling systems only recycle plastics with a 1 or a 2 recycling code. Alas, those plastic containers are usually 5s or 6s. I hate them, too. I didn't know that styrofoam is recyclable. Are you sure? I hope it's true. Someone, weigh in on this.

[Boomerang]

I've defaced many a perfect peach by pulling those blasted little stickers off. My pet peeve in packaging, though, is those hinged clear plastic containers now used for supermarket bakery & produce items, followed by styrofoam takeout containers. Our kitchen trash is always overflowing with both. I try to save and reuse the clear plastic ones for leftovers, but they take up so much space I may soon need to enlarge the kitchen! And wasn't styrofoam found to be non-biodegradable a few decades ago? If so, why do I still see it everywhere?

[StephenCollins]

I have this feeling that in twenty years, there'll be pieces of styrofoam packing popcorn dotting our landscape everywhere. Hope I'm wrong.

[Wiredwilly]

I have a dissenting opinion. I think we need MORE stickers on the fruit.
Let's say you buy an orange with 50 or even 100 stickers.
You could keep off flies. Use it as a cue ball. Juggle. No, more stickers is where it's at.
You could even start putting stickers on everything.
Rectal thermometers, golf clubs, individual M & M's,
the Space Shuttle, Britany Spears. The list is endless.
Imagine the jobs created in the sticker industry.
Forget currency, it's going to be worthless soon anyway.
Use stickers. Yes, I think I'm on to something here.

[StephenCollins]

And I'll have one of whatever you're having!

[CintiBlue]

Great post.

I'm sure you all have started to wash an apple, then remembered the dreaded sticker. They're much harder to get off when wet!

Some time within the last year I read the powers-that-be are trying to come up with a way to actually stamp the fruit with the info. Not an ink thing, but like embossing.

I'm with the farm market shoppers for the good stuff and being in flyover country does offer a great apple selection.

[jeskiley]

I feel so much lighter having read that. Thank you so much for pointing it out. I never planned to study economics, as I live in the land of plenty...fruit just seems to keep falling from trees around my parts. But I'm going to start thinking seriously about this. How much does it cost to keep stickers off the fruit, as opposed to on. I have absolute faith you know what you're talking about. Thank you for being the first.

[StephenCollins]

Thanks for that.

[Cardrvr2002]

I am laughing so hard at these posts I can barely even type!

I have been uber annoyed at these little stickers for years. I'm so glad to know I am not alone. Keep up the common sense blogging Stephen, I love it. And couldn't agree more.

[webweaver]

No stickers is fine.

When you achieve that laudable goal, can you work on the contents of some of the kid-focussed "food".

Nary a nutritional bite to be had in those lunchables.

Just a thought.

p.s. I liked your show.

[StephenCollins]

Thanks. And you're right, of course, about the lack of nutrition in most kids' food. My wife and I watched two hours of prime time network TV the other night, and there wasn't a food product advertised that I would want to eat, or give to my kid. The food companies are killing us with cleverly packaged junk. Until we make the connection between what we eat and our health, we're doomed to more diabetes and heart disease...

[Maeve1]

You are so right,my sons three and he always asks for fruit,I suppose its because i've always introduced healthy food to him and I love fruit myself.Where I live in England there is a lovely farm shop where I buy all my fruit and veg(without those stickers).What a nightmare having to peel those off,I've actually eaten one of those stickers before and it wasn't pleasant,but you have to laugh,as what a waste of time.Talking of prime time TV,it's terrible how the food companies advertise junk,when our prime minister is always banging on about diabetes,heart disease and obesity.That should be your next post stephen,Banning junk food ads. PS.Don't mention 7th heaven,I've been upset twice over that show as it was cancelled twice and im still raw.I've been watching that show for years and never missed an episode!!

[JimR]

If we take the stickers off of fruit, the terrorists will win.