Food Waste

A friend recently purchased an absolutely gorgeous tray of large, organic strawberries. They tasted like sawdust. They tasted absolutely nothing like the fruit he'd recently picked up at one of those U-Pick stations which were perhaps a bit less attractive, but in season and infinitely more delicious.

Somewhere along the line, we in the west have gotten used to the idea that our fruit should look great even if it tastes terrible. Consequently, we have tomatoes that are bred to be picked green and ripen off of the vine thus capable of surviving long distance shipments. We have apples that taste of little more than sugar water but can survive the after 1500 miles they're meant to travel, and we have the aforementioned strawberries that can turn brilliant shades of red, remain firm, and yet taste distinctly not ripe.

To achieve this illusion, we generate an astounding amount of food waste. Roughly fifty percent of food is thrown out before it even makes it to our supermarket shelves; most because of cosmetic problems. Of what ends up on supermarket shelves, in restaurants, and in our own kitchens - another 27% of that food ends up in our waste bins.

This represents a tremendous amount of waste of labor, capital, and water - rolling back many other efforts at environmental conservation. A 2008 New York Times article reports that if even 5% of this waste could be reduced it would be enough to feed four million people.

Take a moment and consider that - four million people.

What can we do to reduce that waste?

On a pragmatic level, purchase what you'll eat and eat what you purchase. Beyond that, if you shop at farmers markets ask your farmer to bring their ugly fruit around. Farmers often throw out produce that have been nibbled on by a wayward critter or (true story) have been attacked by a freak hail storm. The produce is edible and fit for consumption in every other way. It's just, ugly.