There is a food movement in the states that is slowly gaining traction called the “Ugly Food Movement”. To make the name less harsh, some organizations have changed the movement's name to
“inglorious foods”, “wonky foods” or “naturally imperfect foods”. Whichever term is used, the movement has the same goals – to find a channel of distribution for ugly foods so they can be used in a conventional manner rather than ending up in a dump.
Examples of ugly foods: tomatoes that are not round,
zucchinis and cucumbers that are curved too much, or oranges that are shaped like a pear.
Government agencies set standards on size, shape, color, skin texture, and smell of fruits and vegetables. Produce sold in retail establishments has to pass some, or all, of these standards to be deemed good enough to sell.
Leaders of our country are looking out for our welfare but why do they impose standards based on appearance? The produce may look unappealing but this doesn’t hamper the taste or nutritional value gained from them? Think about this too – Americans throw away 100 million tons of food annually at an estimated cost of 165 billion
dollars.
