other than glass,what was food sold in before there were plastic bags and containers?

Question

i am trying to avoid plastic, but find it almost impossible to do! only so many things are conducive to glass jars- so what do you use instead? air gets in cloth bags. and even organic, natural food is sold in pastic bags and containers.

Answer 1

Paper bags. Wax paper. Tins.

Answer 2

Leaves, yup green leaves the larger and thicker the better.
I am in Vietnam at the moment and there are a few food products that are sold on the streets and in the markets and they are wrapped in leaves.
Why leaves, the leaves they use a very large plant leaves from sugarcane plansts etc but it would work with large leaves anyware,lettuce leaves large cauliflower leaves etc.
The trick with this is a leaf will normally not let anything pass through it and is designed to transport rainwater to the central roots of the plant. However if you wrap food in the leef once it has been cut from the plant it will loose moisture as it is not fed by the roots anymore.
With this loss of moisture the leef will contract and if you have wrapped the food and bound the leef correctly you are infact creating a vacuum seal on your food.

Answer 3

To what the others have said, you can add glazed and unglazed pottery and wooden tubs/casks/barrels. However, food wasn't usually sold in containers unless it was a large purchase - it was more often doled out in small amounts and the purchaser would provide the container or the seller would provide some cheap temporary container (like take-away fish&chips wrapped in a few sheets of newspaper, or some penny candy in a twist of paper).

As far as plastics go, the best you can do is to try and re-use or recycle as many as possible.

Answer 4

You can still buy fresh food, and meat is still wrapped in paper at butcher shops. If you are looking for preserved food, the only option is tin cans, jars, and food that is sealed in aluminum foil. You could buy a food dehydrator and learn canning, so that you can preserve your own food. It's time consuming, but it is an option.

Answer 5

tins,burlap sacks, brown paper