Ever noticed how uniform your supermarket fruit and veg has become? Ever wonder what happens to the produce that doesn’t “fit the mould”?
Well, the sad fact is that most of it gets thrown in the garbage. That is, until now…
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, one third of commercial fruit and veg around the globe is wasted annually (that’s over a million tonnes a year). Bummer, right?
We mean, who doesn’t love crazy two-legged carrots – that’s fun food!
It sucks that we’re tossing fruit and veg that’s perfectly great on the inside, but slightly “imperfect” on the outside. Heck, if life was like that the great majority of us would be on the scrap heap.
Well, one Canadian chain is following in the lead of French retailer Intermarche, and celebrating the mysterious and magical shapes nature creates. Hooray for the wonky tomato!
Loblaws Ltd. has recently started stocking “undersized” potatoes and blemished apples in some of their stores across Ontario and Quebec under the new ‘Naturally Imperfect’ brand. Not only that, but they cost up to 30% less than the “well-formed” versions.
Loblaws says that they hope this will help improve accessibility to fresh produce for people who don’t feel like they can afford it, and will roll out other fruit and vegetable selections throughout the coming year. The move will also help increase revenue for farmers who normally can’t sell the “ugly” produce, and help curb food waste, estimated at about $31 million per year in Canada.
Not sure if you’re ready to bite into a “deformed” favourite yet? Well, buy them up anyway and throw ‘em in soups, stews and smoothies.
Say no to heartless discrimination – if it’s good enough for mother nature, it’s good enough for us.
