There's nothing wrong with a tomato that isn't perfectly rounded or a peach with an extra dimple (浅凹) or two; they still carry the same benefits and flavors as the versions we're used to seeing in grocery stores. Farmers conventionally throw away these imperfect items, as many grocery chains won't buy them for fear that they are unsellable. However, a growing group of grocery chains are fighting to make these deserted fruits and vegetables part of consumers' buying habits.
One such business is Imperfect Produce, a start-up that delivers fresh ugly produce to consumers. Through this service, you can get up to 20 pounds of fruit and veggies for around $20 a week. This is about a 30 percent discount compared to what's currently sold in stores. Recently, the company had a major breakthrough when Whole Foods accepted their partnership and agreed to sell the misshapen (畸形的) produce.
While this movement might be a new trend here in the US, it's already gained serious momentum (势头) in Europe. In 2014, the E. U. announced the Year Against Food Waste, with French grocery chain Intermarche launching a very successful campaign called Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables and England's Waitrose selling "weather blemished" apples. In Portugal, a similar company to Imperfect Produce called Fruta Feia has also taken off.
Buying these unfortunate-looking foods should be appealing to consumers not only because of the affordability, but also because of the support it gives to farmers and the direct impact it has on decreasing food waste and the environmental pollution. It is believed that when the discarded fruits and vegetables decompose they release methane, a greenhouse gas that, when released into the gtmosphere, is about 86 times as powerful as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Waste is, in fact, the ugliest thing of all.
