Food waste occurs at all stages of the supply chain, and the appearance of food – regardless of its growing conditions or how fresh it is – is a huge indicator of its fate. On a farm, a farmer might not pick a strawberry if it grows with more than one tip. At a produce market, a supplier might not select an oblong apple because it is not “round enough” to sell. Heck, many stores might not even take a perfectly shaped carrot if it “weighs too much.”
Adjectives like “ugly”, “suboptimal”, and “imperfect” describe edible foods with an irregular shape, color, texture, or other aesthetic imperfection. Shoppers tend to associate appearance with quality – therefore the less “perfect” the food looks, consumers assume it will taste less than ideal. As a result, producers are forced to discard up to 30% of fruits and vegetables due to "aesthetic imperfections." That is insane.
Food waste is the world's most ridiculous problem.
We produce more than enough food to feed everyone, and yet we are throwing away a third of our produce while 782 million people go hungry.
Wasting food means wasting resources. In 2012, the agriculture industry was responsible for 92% of humanity’s total freshwater consumption. Throwing food away also contributes to global warming because decomposing foods release methane into the atmosphere. So much food is wasted throughout the world that if food waste was integrated into a country ranking of top emitters, it would appear third, after USA and China.
Therefore, when you opt for imperfect produce over their perfect counterparts, you can prevent these good foods from such tragic fates.
How to change your perspective on ugly food.
We can increase consumption of imperfect food products by doing away with the idea that imperfections are a bad thing. Instead of thinking of imperfection as synonymous with flawed, we should think of it as quirky, unique, and fun. We can also remember that nature itself is not perfect, so imperfect foods represent natural products of the earth, grown without chemical or scientific intervention. Therefore, with imperfect produce, you’re actually getting nature’s healthiest and finest!
How marketing can change our consumer perspective on these foods.
Anthropomorphism is the act of giving non-human objects/entities humanistic traits, which could be as simple as adding facial features or assigning personalities to food. When it comes to ugly foods, a 2019 study found that "anthropomorphism provides a means to override the negative perceptions associated with misshapen produce resulting from (1) norm deviation and (2) an aesthetically less pleasing appearance". By adding something as simple as googly-eyes to a food, consumer perception changed from viewing a piece of produce as lumpy and gross to something cute.
It is important to use positive human attributes like smiles. By associating a “good” smile with what was originally viewed as “bad”, the smile cancels out the original negative perception of the piece of food.
We can see this clearly with brands like Imperfect Foods's googley-eye marketing materials, and Intermarche’s “Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables” campaign, in which the produce have fun personalities (see photo below).
How you can join the fight against food waste:
Try to shop at farmer’s markets first! They tend to offer a wider selection of imperfect foods for you to rescue and enjoy! (Plus farmer’s markets promote shopping locally which reduces your carbon footprint!).
If you’re at the grocery store, be the hero to choose the more quirky looking items to save them from being left behind.
Get an Imperfect Foods or Misfits Market subscription! These companies are online subscription boxes that ship rescued food to your house. This is a great option if you like to get your shopping done online and they have tons of options to choose from.
Which Intermarche product appealed to you the most from the case study above? Comment below!
I personally love “The Ugly Carrot – In a Soup Who Cares” because it drives home the idea that most times, people will never know what the original product looked like if it’s for a recipe! Although, the Ridiculous Potato that won “Miss Mashed Potato” also has a special place in my heart.
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