Throughline (podcast) did an episode on corporations off-loading responsibility for stuff like this onto the populace.
Found it: episode is called “The Litter Myth.”
Director of Chrono Trigger, Takashi Tokita, directed Live a Live the year prior. Definitely a throughline there.
Potentially. You could engineer potatoes to produce more of certain starches and less moisture, so it would fry up crispier than normal.