THE IMPORTANCE OF USING WONKY PRODUCE
Here at JBC, we don’t discriminate - and that includes when it comes to our fruit! Our juices are packed full of wonderfully wonky fruit, because reducing food waste is super important and they all taste the same.
It’s crazy that we pride ourselves on being different as humans, we all grow different, look different - and none of us are perfect! So why do we expect our food to be? In an article by the Independent in March last year, it was found that ‘during the UK’s “Dig for Victory” campaign in the Second World War, a large proportion of the population had to grow their own fruit and vegetables. Now the majority of people live in cities and towns – typically detached from primary food production.’ Out of convenience we can choose the pretty looking punnet of strawberries over the ‘wonky ones’ because, how ugly would they look on my home-made cheesecake.
image source unknown
But what is this attitude doing to our economy and the environment? The same article found that ‘ugly’ or ‘wonky’ veg were blamed for up to 40 per cent of wasted fruit and vegetables in 2013, as produce was discarded for failing to meet retailer appearance standards. About 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted worldwide every year and, of this, fruit and vegetables have the highest wastage rates of any food type.
The National Farmers’ Union also reported in 2014 that around 20 per cent of gala apples were being wasted prior to leaving the farm gate as they weren’t at least 50 per cent red in colour. Huh!?
But this waste is also happening in our homes, and is corrected by changing simple habits like portion sizes, correct storage, keeping an eye on use by dates and not always taking ‘best before’ dates as gospel.
image via @_sara_mascara_
image via @evanlykitchen
When climate change hits the UK, some of our biggest issues will be overpopulation and extreme weather. This means we may face food shortages and local crops could be destroyed by something as small as a change in temperature at the wrong time of year. When countries around the world suffer, we may not have access to all of the tropical fruits and delights we usually indulge in.
So remember to embrace the ugly, shop local, and eat as seasonally as possible. No matter what colour, shape or size, we all deserve love!
http://eatseasonably.co.uk/