To be slightly irritated to have missed being the generation that got to live life guilt free?

[Beetle76]

I opened a packet of smoked salmon for supper and then had to decant the bit I’m not going to eat now (dinner for 1) into a bulky glass container to keep in the fridge for tomorrow. I felt a twinge of irritation that I couldn’t just throw it into a zip-lock bag or use a bit of cling wrap. I then felt guilty about throwing the non-resealable, non-recyclable packaging away and then started to think about how I would need to avoid buying it again unless I could buy it by weight somewhere. But then I thought I probably shouldn’t be eating fish anyway because of the antibiotics they are fed as well as the slightly uncomfortable fact it was once a living thing.

AIBU to be irritated that I wasn’t born into a generation that could live a convenient life, where they didn’t live under the constant feeling of guilt for every little thing that they did?
I’ve had a long and tiring day today and living in ignorant bliss just seems very appealing right now

And when I grew up there was no such thing as disposable nappies.

FWIW I’m finding the range of responses really interesting!

Problems with boycotting palm oil

Smoked salmon is a red herring in this OP (yes the pun is very much intended). It is more about having a greater understanding of the environment and how we are royally fucking it up just because we (and in this I mean individuals and corporations)are too lazy/vacuous/greedy to be better.

Previous generations didn’t have the same information we do today and whilst there have always been people concerned about our environment, they were dismissed by the majority as scaremongers or crackpots.

OMG - SALMON was only invented in the last 30 years!!! It's only been farmed in the last 30 years or so. Before that, fresh salmon was a luxury fish. Until my 20s I'd only had it tinned.

Growing up in the 50s/60s we created very little waste. Wartime "make do or mend" mentality was still alive and kicking. Recycling came in the form of collecting milk bottle tops for Guide Dogs for the blind. I can remember things loosening off in the 70s and 80s as a welcome throwing off of the penny-pinching of previous years, but by then people were beginning to be environmentally conscious, and the worries about "saving trees" started. It seemed a far bigger worry than the replacement of paper bags by plastic. The other day I heard someone suggesting we get disposable wooden cutlery instead of disposable plastic - a complete turn around of concerns.

Another one from Orangutan charity here

Also in ye good old days, you would go to a hardware shop and buy a pound of nails in a brown paper bag. Self-service did away with loose goods and replaced them with packaged items in small quantities instead. Obviously a few small items are easy to shoplift so they had to introduce oversize packaging to stop that. More plastic!

it could have been the shrinkwrapped cucumber I had with it as a side that sent me over the edge!

Indeed. I think it's the suppliers and retailers who should feel the guilt, not us - we are mostly trying to do the right thing now as inidividuals.

As someone said upthread, earlier generations would have bought it probably wrapped in paper (which they may well have composted afterwards) and would have stored it in tupperware or similar or in a dish with a cloth over it.

There was a very brief window of time when we were wantonly wrapping ourselves in cling film for fun you know

Oh, and self-service means that goods are vulnerable on the shelf, so they had to introduce tamper-proof or tamper-evident packaging. More plastic!

As someone said upthread, earlier generations would have bought [the cucumber] probably wrapped in paper (which they may well have composted afterwards) and would have stored it in tupperware or similar or in a dish with a cloth over it.
Or grown it themselves. Or not eaten out of season.

@racecardriver thank you, I’ve just looked at Lino prints and am going to give it a go!

I stand corrected about the o-zone layer still being a problem - it’s great though that CFCs have reduced.

@speakout I wish there were still no such thing as disposable nappies. I honestly think the government should consider banning them. Reusables are so easy these days and it’s not like the alternative is Terry’s nappies anymore.

@beetle76 I know exactly how you feel and am in the same boat ...I constantly feel guilty these days - even though I religiously recycle, compost and have also become one of those smug flexitarians that only eat vegetarian during the wee, but still "kill a cow" when they have a burger on the weekend... I am constantly ridden by guilt when I stray from the path (e.g. I forget my flask and so buy a plastic bottle of water... it eats me up with guilt)... And of course I know that compared to countries like China and the pollution coming out of there, my individual action is futile, but I still think i need to live by these principles - but you are essentially constantly failing from the outset (fast fashion anyone? Ordering through Amazon and their monster carbon footprint and superfluous packaging... the list doesn't end, ever) - The only way out of it is to just keep doing what you're doing and don't be too hard on yourself when you slip up now and then... you're already doing a lot and that's important!

Sorry, but I don't feel guilty about eating anything at all or throwing away the packaging - what are we supposed to do with it otherwise? You can't exactly re-use smoked salmon packaging!

I wish there were still no such thing as disposable nappies. I honestly think the government should consider banning them. Reusables are so easy these days and it’s not like the alternative is Terry’s nappies anymore.

I'm not sure about banning them but I remember my much older sister coming to stay with her baby in the mid 70s and they brought disposable nappies - they only used them if they were travelling. They certainly weren't an everyday thing for a long time not least because the price was extortionate. Maybe whacking a massive "environment tax" on them might change things?

I think it's generally acknowledged that because disposable nappies have come on so far and are so much more "comfortable" for toddlers, the toddlers are less inclined to want to get out of them. SN etc. aside, it seems a lot more children are toilet trained a lot later as a result, so there are also probably double the amount of nappies being used these days.

I've thought for a long time that the use of disposable nappies today is the "carefree" plastic bags of yesterday.

You can't exactly re-use smoked salmon packaging!
That's a defeatist attitude! It's because we go for the easy option that we end up in an environmental mess. I'm sure that someone could produce reusable or recyclable smoked salmon packaging (or any other packaging) if there were enough penalties encouragement from Government.

Pretty sure that when my mum did the vast majority of her shopping at the butchers and the green grocers she didn't get fobbed off with inferior produce. The quality was always excellent and she had a real relationship with the shopkeepers who would recommend stuff that was particularly good, give her free bones for making stock or scraps for the dog and that sort of thing.

Even our local butcher, who we only see about once a fortnight, offers up suggestions for economical unfashionable cuts of meat, now that things like lamb neck have become trendy and expensive.