The Eastern Cape Karoo has been battling drought along with water outages and hikes in the price of municipal water. Because they struggle to access water, both the rich and the poor in the Eastern Cape Karoo are less likely to grow their own vegetables, or any food, for their own tables. With rising costs, farmers have focused on their commercial livestock business. Their farm produce is for sale, not to feed the families of workers and farm owners. These days, both farm workers and small-town Karoo residents do their shopping in supermarkets or spaza shops. Given that farm workers get paid the worst minimum wages in the country, and often live far away from grocery stores, they must find ways to stretch their money. It’s not surprising then that some families will choose more-processed foods, which are cheaper, longer lasting, and are often easier to access.
Like many of us across the country, people who live there eat food made by faraway corporations – food that leaves trails of plastic. In 2020, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co and Nestle were declared the biggest plastic polluters on earth.
Most of our focus in South Africa has been on waste disposal rather than on waste prevention. This means that instead of corporations taking responsibility for their littering, we focus on how best to clean up the mess.
