![]() Educating consumersĮducation about the environmental and economic impact of food waste could happen through marketing campaigns, in-store displays and even social media. Here are some steps the various parties could take: 1. This would benefit their bottom lines and help consumer acceptance of misshapen fruit and vegetables, possibly leading to less food waste and shortages like those UK shoppers are experiencing right now.īoosting demand for imperfect fruit and vegetables across the supply chain will require all participants to get involved – from grower to seller. By building on existing consumer awareness of the environmental benefits of ugly food, they could also compete in this growing segment. It encourages new entrants into the market and could also limit the availability of “regular” produce because growers could become less stringent about ensuring produce meets traditional cosmetic standards.īut there is a way for traditional retailers to add ugly produce into their product offerings alongside other produce without affecting their profits. On the other hand, the growing market for ugly fruit and vegetables could be an economic threat to traditional retailers. ![]() This benefits shoppers by lowering prices for regular and ugly produce, versus selling both types of products alongside each other in one shop. Having two parallel channels for selling produce (the main one and the dedicated “ugly” channel) would increase competition. Our research also shows that selling the ugly produce through a dedicated channel is likely to increase total demand for fruit and vegetables, while also decreasing on-farm loss. When selling both types of product to a single retailer, the ugly items might be undervalued compared with the standard-looking products. For retailers, this provides an opportunity for further revenue over and above current sales of standard produce to shops. So how can producers and retailers boost the amount of non-standard fruit and veg that not only reaches our shelves, but also our plates? Our recent research suggests a separate channel for selling ugly produce would increase profits for growers, lower prices for consumers and boost overall demand for produce.įor growers, a dedicated channel – either independent or set up by a supermarket – to supply wonky fruit and veg creates a new line of business. EQRoy/Shutterstock Getting ugly produce into baskets Misshapen root vegetables at a French farmers market. Any solutions that increase locally grown produce on shop shelves could improve the availability of fresh food, particularly in urban areas. Ugly veg: supermarkets aren't the biggest food wasters – you areĪside from the ongoing environmental implications of this food waste, UK shoppers currently face produce rationing in some supermarkets due to shortages of items like tomatoes, cucumbers and raspberries. This means that producers’ efforts to meet stringent specifications from buyers can lead to perfectly edible produce being discarded before it even leaves the farm – simply because of how it looks. Other research suggests that as much as 25% of apples, 20% of onions and 13% of potatoes grown in the UK are destroyed because they don’t look right. Globally, around 14% of food produced is lost after harvesting but before it reaches shops and supermarkets.Īlongside food prices (66%), food waste is a concern for 60% of people that participated in a recent survey published by the UK Food Standards Agency. The world is facing a significant food waste problem, with up to half of all fruit and vegetables lost somewhere along the agricultural food chain. ![]()
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