National Public Radio has a story about how Walmart "is piloting sales of weather-dented apples at a discount in 300 of its stores in Florida," joining the "bandwagon" of companies that say they are selling less-than-perfect produce as a way of addressing food waste.
The brand of apples being sold is called "I'm Perfect."
According to the story, "Ugly fruits and vegetables are a fact of life on the farm. Sometimes the dents and scars are so minor that you wouldn't think twice about buying them. They're perfectly edible, delicious and just as nutritious as their unmarred brethren — or perhaps even more so. But their cosmetic challenges (think hail-pocked apples or curvy leeks) have traditionally kept them out of retail stores ... Imperfect produce often ends up in landfills instead, contributing to food waste, which, in turn, is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions."
This is not Walmart's first foray into the ugly produce business. NPR notes that "Wal-Mart has been testing sales of uglies since late April, when it started marketing 'Spuglies' — a brand of weather-damaged potatoes — in its Texas stores."
And, Walmart is not the only retailer taking advantage of the trend. Both Giant Eagle and Whole Foods have embraced similar efforts.
The brand of apples being sold is called "I'm Perfect."
According to the story, "Ugly fruits and vegetables are a fact of life on the farm. Sometimes the dents and scars are so minor that you wouldn't think twice about buying them. They're perfectly edible, delicious and just as nutritious as their unmarred brethren — or perhaps even more so. But their cosmetic challenges (think hail-pocked apples or curvy leeks) have traditionally kept them out of retail stores ... Imperfect produce often ends up in landfills instead, contributing to food waste, which, in turn, is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions."
This is not Walmart's first foray into the ugly produce business. NPR notes that "Wal-Mart has been testing sales of uglies since late April, when it started marketing 'Spuglies' — a brand of weather-damaged potatoes — in its Texas stores."
And, Walmart is not the only retailer taking advantage of the trend. Both Giant Eagle and Whole Foods have embraced similar efforts.
- KC's View:
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I think it is great that retailers are engaged with this effort, but I also think it is important to remember that it really isn't all that new. For years retailers used to put less-than-perfect produce on sale, but a friend of mine reminded me that many stopped doing that because it ate into the sale of traditional, more attractive produce.
Now, retailers simply are doing what they used to do, while being able to justify it as an environmentally positive.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
