Imagine walking through a local grocery store searching for your weekly haul of goods. After making rounds through the majority of the store, you reach the produce section where fruits and vegetables lay, waiting to be selected. As you approach the latest displays, you notice it: There is something different about the fruit. Why do the lemons look as though they have claws protruding from their yellow skin? Why are the oranges and apples disfigured? Where is the signature roundness you are accustomed to seeing?
At first thought, it may be odd to imagine our beloved fruits and vegetables as, well, no longer the perfect spheres and polished shapes we know. However, would it surprise you that with one in seven Americans suffering from food insecurity, 2.9 trillion pounds of food (one-third of the world’s total) are wasted each year?
Fruits and vegetables make up a large quantity of wasted food, and due to cosmetic standards and assumptions that misshapen equals inedible, 30 to 40 percent of food in America is lost. This uneaten food lays rotting in landfills, making up the largest component of municipal solid waste, where it goes on to create significant methane emissions. Not the prettiest sight, is it? This is why we're not accustomed to seeing produce as it is described above: We fear the “ugly fruit” and its unattractiveness.
It is time to meet the ugly fruit and its close companion, the ugly vegetable.
With food insecurity affecting so many individuals (not to mention the completelack of food in countries besides America), it seems ridiculous that this bounty of health is discarded due to the size, shape and irregularity of the produce. While health standards must not be ignored, cosmetic purposes seem to be affecting this waste problem more than anything. Do not be mistaken by these standards: A misshapen piece of fruit or a lumpy vegetable has essentially the same taste and nutritional value as its attractive counterpart.
Food waste is a global problem. Comparing America’s food deserts to starving regions is ineffective, but it is true that both cases benefit from the consumption of “ugly” fruits and vegetables. Imagine these 2.9 trillion pounds of wasted sustenance converted into potential breakfasts, lunches and dinners for countless individuals. Imagine a percentage of that waste as unattractive produce instead making its way into local grocery stores and being donated to the needy. Imagine communities salvaging these hideous fruits and ameliorating food insecurity one piece of “ugly” fruit at a time.
In France, the third-largest supermarket chain, Intermarché, launched a 2014 campaign that sought to familiarize the public with deformed fruits and vegetables. The campaign, titled "Inglorious Fruits & Vegetables," put a humorous twist on deformed produce and encouraged customers to purchase the unfamiliar goods. Photos of the “ugly” produce items aimed to showcase cosmetic flaws as “strange but lovable." The supermarket offered a special aisle of these goods and offered samples to customers to prove that ugly could be just as edible. After this trial, the supermarket's traffic increased by 24 percent.
Back in America, an up-and-coming company, Imperfect Produce, is one of many that offers discounted prices on “ugly” fruits and vegetables and facilitates the sale of unconventional produce. The company is in the process of partnering with food retailers Railey’s and Whole Foods, and it is hoping to combat food waste and increase food availability with these measures. This is only the beginning for misshapen fruits as they make their way out of the landfill and into consumers' shopping carts.
At Giant Eagle grocery, a chain of over 420 stores, a four-pound bag of imperfect oranges sells for $2.99, while the conventional version comes in at $4.99. Discounted prices offer hope that “ugly” fruit can transform food insecurity and make perfectly edible produce more available and more affordable for struggling individuals. If key food suppliers in America follow this lead, with the aid of smaller communities, individuals will be greater numbers of accessible, nutritious food and a decrease in overall food waste.
Though much of this waste can be avoided at the farm-to-store level, consumers can play a role too. Often, we notice our fruits and vegetables look bruised or discolored, and we make assumptions about how produce should look based on its appearance. To avoid confusion, simply search online using sites such as Eat By Date in order to determine the proper shelf life of each item.
"Ugly" fruits and vegetables are slowly making their way into American supermarkets and into communities. And with increased support, there may be hope for our nation's food insecurity and drastic waste problems. In the case of misshapen and oddly-sized produce, we would do well to consider that it is indeed what's inside that counts.
