What a terrible waste of good food !

Looking around the various online newspapers I saw this article on the German website Spiegel International. As you can see it says up to 40% of edible fruit and vegetables is discarded because it is not perfectly shaped or formed. I expect the same situation occurs in other European countries, including ours. Indeed the US, and beyond, could have the same practise. With all the millions starving in this world, and people in the UK  and US, two of the worlds richest countries requiring food parcels / food coupons for survival what a terrible waste. Perfect shape or not this is good food, not highly processed junk food. Do things really have to be perfect to be tasty? In my experience no, because in both of my local supermarkets they have ‘economy’ ranges of vegetables which are sold cheaper because they are all different shapes and sizes. Peppers that are not perfect in shape, mushrooms some large some small, tomatoes that are not the perfect size or shape and many others - you may have seen that too.

Right I’m off to the kitchen now to cut up my odd shaped mushrooms and peppers to add to our chicken casserole. They will taste great !

All the best, and have a great weekend, Jan

From Spiegel

It doesn't take an advertising genius to know that unsightly goods are a hard sell. German supermarkets cottoned on to the principle a long time ago, which is why bruised and blemished produce rarely makes it onto their shelves.

Though fruit and vegetables sold in Germany are governed by European Union food regulations, individual supermarket chains require suppliers to meet stringent cosmetic standards, leading to nearly 40 percent of agricultural produce being destroyed, ploughed back into German fields as fertilizer or processed into other food products each year. 

Misshapen fruit and vegetables are perfectly edible. In terms of quality, they are just as good as their more attractive counterparts -- that much has been confirmed by scientists. It's a message that three German students at the University of Weimar in the eastern state of Thuringia recently set out to spread among consumers.

"Whatever tastes good should end up on your plate, and not in the trash can," comments vegetable farmer Thomas Günthel, who is featured in the campaign. "No matter what it looks like."

Link to story source here.