Global production and use of food packaging have steadily increased since the 1960s. Packaging waste is now considered one of the world's most urgent environmental problems. Most responses to the problem have focused on recycling or the introduction of biomass-based materials. Whilst useful, these approaches focus on managing the symptoms and do not address why the food system has become reliant on single-use packaging. In this paper we use systems method to understand the drivers for the food packaging problem. We apply the first two steps of the systems method to develop a Causal Loop Diagram representing variables and feedback loops that influence the use of food packaging. The modelling process has been supported by a narrative literature review and by the analysis of the behaviour over time. The results show that there are three main interlinked subsystems that drive food packaging use: the globalisation, the expansion of supermarkets and the constraints on households' time. In order to reduce food packaging, structural changes are required. Shifting away from a growth-driven food economy towards a degrowth economic model may reduce the need for food packaging. Redesigning and decentralising food systems are just some of the potential solutions.

自1960年代以来，全球食品包装的生产和使用一直在稳定增长。现在，包装废弃物被认为是世界上最紧急的环境问题之一。解决该问题的大多数方法都集中在回收或引入基于生物质的材料上。这些方法虽然有用，但着重于症状的管理，并未解决食品系统为何依赖一次性包装的问题。在本文中，我们使用系统方法来了解食品包装问题的驱动因素。我们应用系统方法的前两个步骤来开发因果关系图，该因果图表示影响食品包装使用的变量和反馈环。叙述性文献综述和对行为随时间推移的分析为建模过程提供了支持。结果表明，存在三个主要的相互联系的子系统来推动食品包装的使用：全球化，超市的扩张以及家庭时间的限制。为了减少食品包装，需要进行结构上的改变。从增长驱动型食品经济向衰退型经济模式转变可能会减少对食品包装的需求。重新设计和分散食品系统只是一些潜在的解决方案。