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Is the Ugly Fruit problem a myth? The crop scientist Sarah Taber argues it is a myth: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/2/26/18240399/food-waste-ugly-produce-m

Is the Ugly Fruit problem a myth? The crop scientist Sarah Taber argues it is a myth: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/2/26/18240399/food-waste-ugly-produce-myths-farms https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/2/26/18240399/food-waste-... I'm too far removed from the situation to make an educated call but I am inclined to believe her.

davidw 7y ago
Article doesn't contain the word 'taste', which is my take on the problem. I'd rather people were breeding produce for taste rather than being pretty on shelves and easy to transport. In Italy, produce on the shelves is generally not as pretty as here, but it tastes better. Other than that, though, valuable information.
- pfranz 7y ago
  Personally, I agree. I think that's a food culture and logistics situation. Most of these kinds of efforts are on reducing food waste, which is in line with shelf-stable, unbrusable food. I have suspicions that because of the young age and the frontier culture of much of US history, the US doesn't have much of a fresh/healthy food culture. I also think the past couple generations of microwaved/processed foods (which has their own benefits) and more recent improvements in year-round food has erased what little cultural knowledge of seasonal and local foods we had. There are a few movements, like Alice Waters, making some change, but I think in general it's very lacking compared to many other countries. Farmer's markets are where you can find fresher, more seasonal food. They often carry a lot more varieties. Including ones that either aren't familiar enough to the average person, or lack the shelf-life and durability of the mainstream varieties.
  - davidw 7y ago
    I definitely think things are changing for the better in the US, slowly but surely. When I was a kid, "parmesan cheese" was that green shit in a can. Now, even here in remote, small-ish Bend, Oregon, I can get real Parmigiano Reggiano at Costco at a reasonable price.
- jdietrich 7y ago
  There's a significant tradeoff between taste and waste. Modern varieties are bred primarily for long shelf lives and durability during transportation. If you want fruits and vegetables year-round, they're inevitably going to be blander than local and seasonal produce.
  - avip 7y ago
    The main impact is that we eat way more out-of-season fruits and veggies. Year-round-everything is a pretty new concept.
- pkaye 7y ago
  I've heard the reason that honey crisp apples are expensive is because they spoil easily in shipping. Those red delicious apples that nobody likes are easier to ship. So if you want to optimize produce for taste, buy locally.
avip 7y ago
I volunteer at an NGO that collects dropped food from the food supply chain. The ugly fruit is not a myth, and I have both the numbers, and the fruits, to prove that.
- devoply 7y ago
  Ugly fruit problem, not ugly fruit... In that it's Valley b/s to argue that this is some hearty problem which has all the sudden been solved. That the truth is that those ugly fruits were used to make other things or given to the poor.
  - avip 7y ago
    Oh, ok. Excuse my lack of familiarity with SV food waste jargon. Nothing is "solved" wrt fresh produce loss. It's a worldwide acute issue, one of our major sustainability killers.
gl0pratch3t 7y ago
Where I live in South Georgia this time of year I witness dump trucks of cucumbers drive by ever few hours. Once I asked my dad where they are going he said to a feed lot for cattle because they contain defects that would stop consumers from purchasing.
woodandsteel 7y ago
Interesting article. But she says "I love eating fresh produce, but I also know that it’s really expensive and it takes a lot of time to prepare" But frozen is at least as expensive as fresh, many items like apples, lettuce, onions and tomatoes are simply unavailable, and I don't have remotely enough room in my freezer for all the produce I eat. As far as the time thing goes, I spend way too much time sitting in front of a computer, and it's good for me to spend time every day standing up chopping up vegetables.
woodandsteel 7y ago
Tauber says the imperfect food gets used other ways, like fed to animals or plowed under. But she doesn't give us any statistics or economic analysis, like the cost of fertilizer. Also, if it is all already being used, then where are programs like Imperfect Produce getting what they sell?

davidw 7y ago

Article doesn't contain the word 'taste', which is my take on the problem. I'd rather people were breeding produce for taste rather than being pretty on shelves and easy to transport. In Italy, produce on the shelves is generally not as pretty as here, but it tastes better. Other than that, though, valuable information.

pfranz 7y ago
Personally, I agree. I think that's a food culture and logistics situation. Most of these kinds of efforts are on reducing food waste, which is in line with shelf-stable, unbrusable food. I have suspicions that because of the young age and the frontier culture of much of US history, the US doesn't have much of a fresh/healthy food culture. I also think the past couple generations of microwaved/processed foods (which has their own benefits) and more recent improvements in year-round food has erased what little cultural knowledge of seasonal and local foods we had. There are a few movements, like Alice Waters, making some change, but I think in general it's very lacking compared to many other countries. Farmer's markets are where you can find fresher, more seasonal food. They often carry a lot more varieties. Including ones that either aren't familiar enough to the average person, or lack the shelf-life and durability of the mainstream varieties.
- davidw 7y ago
  I definitely think things are changing for the better in the US, slowly but surely. When I was a kid, "parmesan cheese" was that green shit in a can. Now, even here in remote, small-ish Bend, Oregon, I can get real Parmigiano Reggiano at Costco at a reasonable price.
jdietrich 7y ago
There's a significant tradeoff between taste and waste. Modern varieties are bred primarily for long shelf lives and durability during transportation. If you want fruits and vegetables year-round, they're inevitably going to be blander than local and seasonal produce.
- avip 7y ago
  The main impact is that we eat way more out-of-season fruits and veggies. Year-round-everything is a pretty new concept.
pkaye 7y ago
I've heard the reason that honey crisp apples are expensive is because they spoil easily in shipping. Those red delicious apples that nobody likes are easier to ship. So if you want to optimize produce for taste, buy locally.

avip 7y ago

I volunteer at an NGO that collects dropped food from the food supply chain. The ugly fruit is not a myth, and I have both the numbers, and the fruits, to prove that.

devoply 7y ago
Ugly fruit problem, not ugly fruit... In that it's Valley b/s to argue that this is some hearty problem which has all the sudden been solved. That the truth is that those ugly fruits were used to make other things or given to the poor.
- avip 7y ago
  Oh, ok. Excuse my lack of familiarity with SV food waste jargon. Nothing is "solved" wrt fresh produce loss. It's a worldwide acute issue, one of our major sustainability killers.

gl0pratch3t 7y ago

Where I live in South Georgia this time of year I witness dump trucks of cucumbers drive by ever few hours. Once I asked my dad where they are going he said to a feed lot for cattle because they contain defects that would stop consumers from purchasing.

woodandsteel 7y ago

Interesting article. But she says "I love eating fresh produce, but I also know that it’s really expensive and it takes a lot of time to prepare" But frozen is at least as expensive as fresh, many items like apples, lettuce, onions and tomatoes are simply unavailable, and I don't have remotely enough room in my freezer for all the produce I eat. As far as the time thing goes, I spend way too much time sitting in front of a computer, and it's good for me to spend time every day standing up chopping up vegetables.

woodandsteel 7y ago

Tauber says the imperfect food gets used other ways, like fed to animals or plowed under. But she doesn't give us any statistics or economic analysis, like the cost of fertilizer. Also, if it is all already being used, then where are programs like Imperfect Produce getting what they sell?