What a terrible waste of good food !
Looking around the various online newspapers I saw this article on the German website Spiegel International. As you can see it says up to 40% of edible fruit and vegetables is discarded because it is not perfectly shaped or formed. I expect the same situation occurs in other European countries, including ours. Indeed the US, and beyond, could have the same practise. With all the millions starving in this world, and people in the UK and US, two of the worlds richest countries requiring food parcels / food coupons for survival what a terrible waste. Perfect shape or not this is good food, not highly processed junk food. Do things really have to be perfect to be tasty? In my experience no, because in both of my local supermarkets they have ‘economy’ ranges of vegetables which are sold cheaper because they are all different shapes and sizes. Peppers that are not perfect in shape, mushrooms some large some small, tomatoes that are not the perfect size or shape and many others - you may have seen that too.
Right I’m off to the kitchen now to cut up my odd shaped mushrooms and peppers to add to our chicken casserole. They will taste great !
All the best, and have a great weekend, Jan
From Spiegel
It doesn't take an advertising genius to know that unsightly goods
are a hard sell. German supermarkets cottoned on to the principle a long
time ago, which is why bruised and blemished produce rarely makes it
onto their shelves.
Though fruit and vegetables sold in Germany are governed by European
Union food regulations, individual supermarket chains require suppliers
to meet stringent cosmetic standards, leading to nearly 40 percent of
agricultural produce being destroyed, ploughed back into German fields
as fertilizer or processed into other food products each year.
Misshapen fruit and vegetables are perfectly edible. In terms of
quality, they are just as good as their more attractive counterparts --
that much has been confirmed by scientists. It's a message that three
German students at the University of Weimar in the eastern state of
Thuringia recently set out to spread among consumers.
"Whatever tastes good should end up on your plate, and not in the trash
can," comments vegetable farmer Thomas Günthel, who is featured in the
campaign. "No matter what it looks like."
Link to story source here.
6 comments:
Totally agree Jan. Misshapen or ugly is now taken to approximate possibly diseased or dangerous,I think it is because we mostly see only the perfectly shaped most of the time and also because fewer and fewer people grow their own. If you do you get used to slight irregularities and can often see what caused them just look at much of the organic stuff. Some marketing genius could maybe sell these misshapes as "natural". Not quite organic but next best thing. I am shocked at the scale of the waste.
Kath
I wholeheartedly agree! The bureaucracy that comes from the EU doesn't help matters at all. I remember the nonsense regarding the shape of bananas ! Most of the veggies I buy are in the value range, their only crime being they come in different shapes and sizes but taste exactly the same! C'mon folks! Buy some 'ugly' veg and still eat well and save a few quid!
Regards
Paul
It's crazy, Jan! A few local homeless shelters work with a few local businesses to obtain their "left overs" but we are talking muffins from coffee shops and cookies from bakeries.
There's got to be some way to get the slightly less "perfect" stuff to the folks in food deserts (urban areas with little fresh foods) and/or the underdeveloped or undeserved areas.
I hope to focus in this area in the future- maybe as a second career (not for profit) someday.... Thanks for the article.
There are more and more talks about eating insects, lab-made meat, powdered vegetable protein instead of actual meat, while a lot of meat got discarded way before it gets spoiled. I would rather eat not perfectly fresh meat (but not spoiled), than any artificial protein source. May be insects are fine, but not soy protein and things like that.
Hi Kath
It is a terrible scale of waste and the shame is this food still tastes good and would benefit many.
Hello Paul
Agree with you. Let's all buy some "ugly" veg it can only help us in our healthy lifestyle.
Hi Karen
Thanks for your comment. This sure is a crazy world when so much good healthy wholesome food is wasted. All the best in your goal for your future career 100% behind you.
Hello Galina
Yes, I too would not be happy with eating artificial protein source, but it is criminal that so much good healthy food goes to waste.There is so much more that could be done.
Thanks all for your comments, do keep them coming in. Your views and ideas are welcome.
All the best Jan
The EU have a lot to answer for and most of it not beneficial to the ordinary people who live within it. Some of the laws are ridiculous and urgently need reviewing, this daft practise should be at number one in the list.
Joe
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