*1158 - the blemished vegetable

We watched the Big Waste on Food Network where Chef Bobby and Chef Anne and Chef Lady-Who-Judges-Chopped and Chef I-Can't-Remember-Actually rummaged through "waste" from farms and grocery stores. Now that was eye-opening, about as eye-opening as Food Inc but perhaps slightly less actionable. Still. Here is the main takeaway.

When we're shopping for fresh produce, look out for that slightly bruised but otherwise still lovely eggplant. The red pepper with the extra lump that makes it look extremely awkward. The tomato with a scar down its side because it burst from over-juiciness when on the vine. The squash with a scratch because it got bumped around in its crate on the way to the store. The cabbage with a yellowed and dusty leaf on the outside that, when removed, would reveal a perfectly good head of cabbage.

It's hard to choose these in favour of their perfect-looking siblings, because, when there are choices available, why settle for less? The answer is that these blemished products, though perfectly good and edible (and once you chop them up and cook them will look exactly the same as their "perfect" counterparts), will at the end of the day be thrown out or not even make it to the grocery store but discarded at the farm, because we as consumers shape what we want to see on the shelves. If we reject these blemished products, they would join the gazillions of tons of food waste that really didn't need to be wasted.

It doesn't have to look perfect--as long as it's still fresh and good, it'll look/taste the same in the end. (I'm not talking about buying rotten or mouldy products, of course, those truly are "waste" products.)

Buy a blemished vegetable the next time you shop, and maybe we can help solve this problem one veggie at a time. Veggies aren't perfect, save a blemished veggie today!!