As primitive societies developed and humans roamed further and further afield, it became necessary to transport food and other items of trade greater and greater distances, and to protect those products from damage and contamination. Jute sacks and animal skins provided convenient means of packaging. Growing populations stretched existing resources and technological innovation blossomed, sometimes with unforeseen consequences. In the industrial revolution of the late nineteenth century, for example, millions of people were forced off the land by the rapid development of machine harvesting. They flooded the major towns and cities of the world looking for work in newly-built factories.
Packaging exists to service man's needs for food and trade.
The vast majority of the population was now some distance from its source of food and means had to be found to ship large quantities of goods with the minimum of waste. Modes of transport changed too. The horse and stagecoach gave way to an extensive rail network throughout Canada. Then came roads and automobiles which in turn gave way to trucks and specially designed refrigerated vehicles. General-purpose cargo ships became container vessels and the rail and aircraft industries became more sophisticated and efficient in their safe delivery of fresh and uncontaminated product.