Apples with lumps, carrots with two legs, and oranges that aren’t perfectly round usually get thrown away before they even reach the grocery store. Many people get upset over all the ‘failed’ fruits and vegetables that go to waste; why would you toss out ugly produce when it tastes just as good as the pretty versions?
The French supermarket chain Intermarchéagrees with this and has placed the less pretty vegetables and fruits on the shelves, with fitting name cards, during their Inglorious Fruits & Vegetables campaign. You will find Failed Lemons side by side with their normal ‘pretty’brothers, and the lumpy Grotesque Apples next to the smooth, round fruits. The ugly varieties of fruits and vegetables are thirty percent cheaper than the perfectly formed, shiny copies, and are finding an eager audience. In addition the store also sells soups and juices made from the ugly crops.
The campaign has been a huge success. Both the shopping public and the French media are thrilled with the supermarket’s actions. The call has gone out for all French supermarkets to take on this concept to help combat food waste.
