As a "Lost Canadian" I have been focused on learning about my "new" Country - Canada, and have enjoyed learning about their many, amazing National Parks. But now I want to focus on some of the things which make Canada unique, interesting, wonderful, and ways they are different than the USA - today I'm sharing with you what I've learned about something which is certainly unique, interesting, different than what I'm used to in the US, and potentially wonderful . . . milk-in-a-bag.
Yes, milk-in-a-bag! This is what I've learned on line about milk-in-a-bag . . .
In parts of Canada, milk is often sold in plastic "pillow pouches" - typically sold in a three pack of 1.33 liter bags. To use it, you place one bag into a reusable pitcher, snip off a small corner to create a spout, and pour. The milk-in-a-bag phenomenon is largely a regional staple found in Eastern and Central Canada, particularly in provinces like Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime provinces. Western provinces (such as British Columbia and Alberta) generally rely on traditional plastic jugs or cartons instead. I have learned you are able to find milk in standard cartons in the areas which sell milk-in-a-bag, but they are not as common.
Bagged milk was first introduced in Canada in 1967. Its popularity surged in the 1970s when Canada switched to the metric system. Dairy producers found it much easier and cheaper to retrofit their assembly lines to produce 1.33-liter metric bags than to re-engineer rigid jugs or cartons, and they slightly increased the total volume to preserve sales.
- Environmental Impact: According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, polyethylene milk pouches require 20% to 30% less energy to produce and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% to 40% compared to rigid jugs and cartons. This makes a lot of sense to me - I can see how it would be more environmentally friendly to use milk pouches/bags in place of plastic milk cartons.
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