Canada embraces ugly produce

[Toliver]

The article:

"Ugly fruit is taking Canada by storm. Here's why you should care."

Quote

About 1.3 billion tons of food is "lost or wasted," annually. That's because of a myriad of issues that includes stringent beauty standards produce must pass in order to be sold.  

 

Produce sold in the U.S. must pass muster on a beauty scale in order to even be brought to market, and if that peach isn't perfectly round and rosy-golden, it's likely to be discarded before you even get a chance to buy it. 

This new push of selling normally discarded produce & fruit and giving it a second chance could change eating habits and perhaps the environment. After all, how pretty does that apricot have to look if it's going to end up being turned into jam?

 

There was a similar eGullet discussion years ago about ugly tomatoes and how the state of Florida was preventing local farmers from selling "ugly" heirloom tomatoes out of state because they didn't look pretty. Here's a link to an article posted in that discussion about this subject from way back when (12 years ago):

"Florida Keeps Ugly Tomatoes to Itself"

Quote

Florida tomatoes are easy to spot. They look like Christmas tree ornaments, and that's the way the marketing board wants it to stay. They worry that the ugly ripes will give Florida tomatoes a bad name.

Ironically, today my local grocery store now has an "Ugly Tomato" bin in their produce section where they sell heirloom tomatoes. (at higher prices than regular tomatoes ).

So there's a market out there for ugly produce, blemished or not...when will the U.S. follow Canada's lead on this? Or is it already happening?

[Deryn]

Anyone who shops at farmer's markets regularly is accustomed to produce that doesn't always look perfect. 'Perfect' is in the eyes of the beholder anyway.

 

I am in Canada and don't quite get what all the hype is about - but yes this new 'thing' is being widely advertised here. I don't want overly bruised fruits and limp vegetables usually (though I have bought those which were marked down when I had an immediate use for them in some dish where they would be fully cooked with other ingredients anyway) but I don't much care most of the time if my produce is pretty or ugly - as long as it tastes good. I also don't want diseased or potentially disease spreading produce - even if it looks perfect and supposedly has been carefully washed 20 times before being bagged. But, if the carrot has 3 roots, I might buy it - all other things being equal - just because it is unique.

 

Reading what you wrote though about how 'ugly' fruit is being priced higher than 'beautiful' (one presumes - though I am not exactly sure what that means) fruit, I am not surprised but I am sorry to hear it. There are also other good ways for stores/distributors to use 'ugly' produce - by sending them to food banks - and many do or used to (before regulations in some places stopped them from that practice).

Edited March 8, 2016 by Deryn (log)

[blue_dolphin]

From Ugly To Hip: Misfit Fruits And Veggies Coming To Whole Foods

[Tere]

I saw this quite recently in Morrison's of all places but I cannot for the life of me remember what veg it was. It was near the potato section so I am guessing in that family.