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Food is not “bad”, waste is bad

Food waste is a major issue in our time.
Millions of tons of food end up in the trash at the same time that millions of people are malnourished. On the one hand there are people who need food and on the other hand huge amounts of food are thrown away. An oxymoron shape that should concern us all. 1/3 of the world’s food production is wasted in fields, supermarkets, households and restaurants. If this waste is reduced by 25%, the problem of malnutrition would be addressed. The reasons why food is thrown away and not consumed are many and among them is the appearance.
It is observed that there is an obsession with the appearance of food, especially fruits and vegetables, which does not share excessive waste. In fact, this obsession with appearance leads 30% of fruits and vegetables to the trash and they don’t even make it to store shelves. But is this a sufficient reason for such a great waste? It makes sense in production not to produce the perfect products with the brightest color, no marks and the perfect shape because that is nature. Some of the so-called “ugly” fruits and vegetables may not be edible, but most can be eaten safely.
Do we choose food for appearance or content? Supermarket chains follow a policy of having the most presentable products on their shelves. They think that this way they will get the desired sales compared to if they had worse fruits or vegetables. The same applies to public markets. Many times the farmers say that their customers shop based on appearance in addition to financial considerations. They say that some people prefer yellow lemons because they (mistakenly) think they have more juice, or avoid less red tomatoes or crooked cucumbers or oddly shaped potatoes or fruits with marks and bumps on their skin. So these fruits and vegetables end up in the trash. A British supermarket chain has decided to sell fruit and vegetables claiming that perfection lies in imperfection. And that’s how it really is. “Ugly” fruits and vegetables have a place in the market and deserve to be bought. Why? Why: There are no bad fruits and vegetables. The only bad thing is waste and we should all make efforts to reduce it as much as possible!
