Who Needs Plastic? Photo of Ice Cream Served in Banana Leaf in India Impresses Norwegian Diplomat

Various countries across the world have adopted measures to reduce the use of plastic. It pollutes our environment and harms marine life. Over the years, it has been seen that many shop owners have switched to non-plastic bags for packing food items and plates made of paper or reusable material for serving dishes.

Recently, Norwegian diplomat Erik Solheim put out a picture of an ice-cream cup made of banana leaf on social media. The image shows a scoop of strawberry ice cream served in a banana leaf cup. A spoon made of bamboo to eat ice cream is also seen in the photo. Usually, a plastic spoon is provided to eat ice-creams.

Posting the image, the diplomat wrote, "Green inspiration! This picture from India of ice cream served in a banana leaf cup shows that we really don't need plastic as much as we think we do."

The picture was originally shared last year in September by Initiative United North-East on Facebook. The diplomat’s tweet carried the Facebook link of Initiative United North-East.

The Twitter post has garnered more than 3K likes and over 600 retweets. Many netizens also commented on the post. Responding to the tweet, one user said that they are using such stuff to serve not only ice-creams but all kinds of food.

Another person said, “No, we don't need ice creams as much as we think we do. At the current rate, it would take a few months to cut all Banana plants on a farm. Instead, eat Banana, not ice cream.”

One netizen wrote that serving food and dessert on plates made of dried Sal tree leaves is an age-old practice in rural and semi-urban India. She also advised to use dry leaves instead of green ones.

Many people also shared pictures showing food being served on leaves. Some of them said that they have had the pleasure of enjoying food on leaves.