Pet packaging peeves

I am stumped as to why supermarkets intentionally package their food so that it will go bad faster, sometimes right on the shelves. I'm talking about packaging potatoes in clear plastic, so they go green and sprout and can't breathe. I want to cry when I see live clams suffocating in plastic. Or shallots, which are so often moldy from bad packaging. And spraying everything with water every minute, whether it needs it or not. Or putting a little sticky label on every apple (as mandated by law) which adds a whole layer of handling that you don't want. Or shrink-wrapping nice cheese, squishing it. I just opened a hunk of Stilton that's been squished into a cream-cheese texture.

I wish there were guidelines distributed to stores on how to best keep food. Usually it's some high-school kid earning gas money who handles this stuff, but wouldn't you think the stores would want to protect their investment? It seems like such a waste . . .