When there is an entire basket of, let’s say carrots in the grocery store, there are always a few that look a bit different, maybe a different shape or smaller in size or bruised or whatever. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t taste just as good as the others! However, most people will take the produce that looks ‘perfect’ (honestly, what is perfect anyways??).
Some produce is called ‘ugly’ because it doesn’t fit industrial standards. After some time, these less ‘perfect’ items are considered unsellable and thrown away which is really sad and unnecessary, because we could have prevented it by buying it before it gets too bad. So, consider especially buying funny-looking, bruised or ‘imperfect’ produce to reduce food waste and fight the expectation that food has to grow and look a certain way.
For instance, when a food is bruised and brown it just means the flesh of the veggie/fruit has been damaged, which you can either eat, obviously unless there are signs of rotting, or just cut it out. And when the produce has a funny shape, see it as something special instead of an imperfection! What if a veggie/fruit is already really soft and wouldn’t be as tasty to eat raw by itself? Look for a recipe and cook or bake it, or use it maybe even as a hidden ingredient.
Remember, when produce looks ‘imperfect’, it doesn’t mean the taste is affected. It will probably still taste delicious! Grab those funny-looking and bruised veggies or fruits and be happy that you help eliminate wasting food!
Food waste is a very big problem in our society nowadays. Globally, around one-third of all food that is produced for human consumption gets wasted or lost (source: FAO). In the EU alone, every year approximately 88 million tonnes of food waste is generated with costs estimated at 143 billion euros (source: Fusions). What?!
Wasting food doesn’t only have a negative environmental impact, it also is unethical as well as brings up economic consequences. But when we change our habits in our day-to-day life - each and everyone of us - we can have a huge impact and decrease food waste insanely!
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