On first look, maybe the ugly produce were not that attractive and it would still be difficult for consumers to accept it. However, Intermarché came up with an ingenious plan by repackaging these food (as seen in the video). What a great idea!! This not only helps to increase awareness on food wastage, but it also encourages consumers to buy the 'ugly' produce which are sold at lower prices. Win-win situation!
In addition, before the ugly produce even reaches the supermarket, an organization called Imperfect Produce in the US would buy the rejected, cosmetically-challenged goods from farmers and distributors before selling them to consumers. Here's an interview with Ben Simon, the chief executive officer of Imperfect Produce.
Let's take a closer took at these produce:
"These Pink Lady apples were rejected because they're smaller than the required minimum diameter of 2 inches."
"Vibrant as they are, these carrots were deemed too crooked for grocery stores."
"These heads of cauliflower were rejected because of ever-so-slight splitting between the knobs on the head."
These are just some but not all of the produce that are rejected by supermarket standards. Bet you can't even tell the difference between a rejected one and one that can be sold in the supermarket huh? These produce are still edible and they taste the same despite their lacking in the appearance department.Activities like these really make me feel like trying 'ugly' produce now... Does that even make sense?! The supermarkets in Singapore should definitely take a leaf out of the French supermarket book. Imagine the amount of food waste that we would be able to cut down! Not to forget, start-ups such as Imperfect Produce. I believe that slowly but surely, we would be able to take baby steps in cutting down our food wastage at the consumer level. :)
References:
http://www.techinsider.io/ugly-fruits-and-vegetables-reject-your-unreasonable-beauty-standards-2015-8
http://www.onearth.org/earthwire/imperfect-produce-food-waste
Supermarkets indeed contribute a large factor of food waste especially on produce that is not sold. How do you think we can encourage Singapore shoppers to buy these ugly fruits? I asked my mum about it and she told me she'll never buy a deformed fruit or vegetable no matter how cheaply they cost because she believe that the 'deformed genes' would be transferred to us when we eat them. I'm sure mos Singaporeans share the same thoughts as my mum.
ReplyDeleteHI Li Fang! Thanks for your comment! It's true that most Singaporeans might not adopt this attitude towards buying deformed fruits, well, simply because they want the best. I'm thinking that one way we can encourage shoppers to buy these ugly fruits is to start from teenagers (instead of adults). Teenagers have opinions that are more easily swayed and if we can convince them (by showing them that deformed food can be repackaged/cooked and still taste the same as a "normal" looking food), it will be a small progress nonetheless. By targeting the teenagers, we can get them to spread more awareness about food wastage and deformed food especially through campaigns that can take place through social media platforms (such as Instagram which is very popular). Progress might be slow, but it is a step closer to convincing more singaporeans, especially housewives to be more open-minded about deformed food. :)
DeleteHAHA that's a really good idea! Maybe supermarkets in Singapore could sell/supply deformed fruits that are still perfectly edible to fruit stalls that use them for juicing. ;) This not only reduces wastage but the purchasers can also get their ingredients at lower prices. I bet most of the students would not even be able to taste the difference between a "normal" looking fruit and a deformed one!
ReplyDelete