'Ugly Food', the movement that fights against the waste of imperfect foods
Most of us may do it almost instinctively, without realizing it, but it is more than usual to select either in the supermarket, in the neighborhood greengrocer or in our reference market , those foods that from the first moment they enter 'better' through our eyes.
In other words, we usually opt for those products that in shape or color, present a good appearance to the detriment of those others who have bumps, bumps and do not represent 'perfection'.
Fruits and vegetables are the most affected
Although it is usually included in food in general, fruits and vegetables are the most affected throughout the process of food waste since they are collected in the fields until they reach the final consumer. That is why in recent years there have been emerging different associations or organizations who fight in a common cause: the 'Ugly Food' movement.
Also known as the 'Food Waste' movement, what is intended with initiatives such as these is stop wasting those foods that are apparently not perfect and therefore they stop being marketed to sell the apples, tomatoes or strawberries that do meet the established aesthetic canons, as if they were a premium product a stroke of intense color and ideal shape.
Enough already! The time has come to bet on a more real beauty. Just like our bodies in which the body positive is advocated.... Why not transfer it to the foodie field as well?
THE SHOCKING FIGURES ON FOOD WASTE
Before delving fully into the different organizations that have been appearing in recent years to join this movement both within our borders and beyond, It is vitally important to understand the magnitude of the issue and why initiatives such as these are necessary to achieve change this delicate and problematic situation.
Let's claim the aesthetic diversity of food
According to the latest report from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) published in 2019 on The state of food and agriculture : “annually on a global scale, 1/3 of the total food produced is lost or wasted”.
For its part, in Spain and according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food , “during 2018 they wasted 1,339 million kilos and liters of food and beverages”.
We must bear in mind that this figure would be even higher if we add the waste that occurs at other levels of the food chain. As reflected in the FAO report, these are:
- The farm: is the first level where food is lost due to “Improper harvest time, weather conditions , practices applied in harvesting and handling, and challenges in product marketing”.
- The store: is the second step where the most significant losses are related to “ improper storage, as well as by the decisions made in the first stages of the supply chain that they make products have a shorter shelf life.”
- Transport: when food is in transit “good infrastructure and efficient commercial logistics They are key to preventing food loss.”
Espigoladors fight against food waste
- The store: it is when more groceries are suppressed for aesthetic reasons where “the causes of retail food waste are related to the need for products meet aesthetic standards in terms of colour, shape and size, and variability of demand.
- Home: the last level and in which all of us come into play when it comes to our homes where "consumer waste is often caused by poor shopping and meal planning **excessive shopping carts and poor storage in the home”. **
food waste is an environmental problem worryingly serious because it involves the creation of a lot of waste. **
When a food is not used, it becomes waste all the elements used for its production, such as land and water. Furthermore, it is the cause of 8% of greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale.
THE 'UGLY FOOD' MOVEMENT IN SPAIN
Although we are facing a movement whose origin was not Spain but the first steps were taken in the United States, in Australia and other European countries such as UK or France , in recent years there have been emerging initiatives that well deserve our recognition and they have also become an example of inspiration for people and organizations that want to be aware in the matter.
Espigoladors works for environmental sustainability
One of the most notorious in our country is the Espigoladors Foundation, which was born in the year 2014 to respond to three social and environmental problems: food waste, the right to healthy eating and social and labor inclusion of people at risk of exclusion.
In the words of Anna Cornudella , communication technique of Espigoladors: “we work with food that was going to be wasted and that, through our activity, is reintroduced into the chain. **Espigoladors has a transversal model that works for environmental sustainability and social equality. **
It is also a model based on the principles of the circular economy, a new economic paradigm that aims to extend the life of materials and generate minimal waste”.
The Espigoladors Foundation is made up of a multidisciplinary team committed to social and environmental struggles. A dynamic, active team with a great capacity for adaptation and with a total of 600 volunteers who are essential within the organization and who participate in its activities.
“At Espigoladors we understand ugly food, which we call imperfect food, like all those foods suitable for human consumption discarded from the commercial circuit due to the aesthetic policies that govern the food market", account to Traveler.es.
Espigoladors has a total of 600 volunteers
"These policies not only go through form, the color and appearance that the food should have, but also take into account their calibers. A) Yes, if a fruit or vegetable is too large or small in relation to the size marked, it is directly discarded”, Cornudella comments.
“Aesthetic policies are the cause of the primary sector is forced to waste entire crops of certain foods. These shape and gauge requirements are, especially for small producers, an added difficulty in order to obtain an economic return of his work and continue, in this way, with his activity”, she continues.
The daily work of this organization consists of collecting food directly from the field, which would otherwise be wasted.
“It is important to highlight here that our collaboration with producers and producers materializes through the signing of an agreement, through which They give us permission to enter their fields following a series of conditions. Right now we work with a network of about a hundred producers”, indicate from Espigoladors.
Espigoladors workers picking artichokes
Once in the fields and with groups of volunteers, they go to the land of the primary sector and collect all the fruits and vegetables in which it is put in the foreground the hard work these farmers do:
Through this activity we bring people closer to the origin of food to raise its value. It is also a very powerful awareness-raising activity that emphasizes the need to carry out conscious and local consumption”.
Of everything they collect from Espigoladors, 95% of these recovered foods are channeled to different Food Distribution Services that work to guarantee healthy consumption for people in a situation of social exclusion. “With the remaining 5% we make vegetable preserves in im-perfect® , which is our workshop (jams, vegetable pates, creams, sauces...)".
"This is both a culinary innovation space for food use and a space for insertion and job training for people at risk of social exclusion. Cornudella says.
UGLY FOOD INITIATIVES BEYOND OUR BORDERS
Espigoladors is a pioneering model in our country, but outside of Spain there are many projects that have been emerging in recent years in favor of the 'Ugly Food' movement.
In the United States, for example, we find Misfits Market, a company that follows a subscription model in which product boxes for sale with which they are intended break the cycle of food waste.
Espigoladors also makes vegetable preserves such as jams
"We supply high quality organic products from the farm to your house that have some peculiarities: onions that are too small , potatoes that look like your favorite celebrity and carrots that fell in love and twisted together”, can be read on his website in a humorous tone.
There are two boxes on offer: The Mischief and The Madness. The first at a price of 22 dollars includes a mix of 12 different types of fruit and vegetables such as apples, mangoes, lettuce, courgettes, peppers or aubergines; while the second option has a cost of 35 dollars and is made up of a box of a total of 14 varieties instead of twelve.
In Germany we can also find Querfeld, in Portugal ugly fruit, in the United Kingdom FoodCycle and in Singapore the organization Ugly Food who fight daily for this movement that aims not only to make this world a better place, but also educate other people to continue with this model of food consumption where the beauty of the food is not at odds with the quality Of the same.
Appearance does not determine taste
'UGLY' ON THE OUTSIDE...AND ALSO ON THE INSIDE?
Absolutely! We must know that fruits, vegetables and any food itself that has an imperfect appearance they are just as nutritious and have the same shelf life than any other food that has an aesthetically perfect appearance.
"In fact, when we find an ugliest piece, we are before a product with a big label of 'NATURAL' and 'REAL FOOD'. Where we should cast suspicion on its nutritional quality, it would be on those fruits or vegetables that are perfect looking, but that have no smell, no taste or that are sold out of season," indicates the nutritionist **Paula from the Retiro Psychology and Nutrition Clinic. **
From now on all of us we must become aware of fighting against waste of food because, as stated by Espigoladors:
“Although environmental problems have gained a lot of media presence during 2019, food waste remains a little-known topic. But thanks to the work of the organizations that we fight for food use, More and more people are informed.
“In Spain this fact is known but it has not been given great importance. It is clear that the number of initiatives that have been taken for this have been counted, compared to other European countries such as the United Kingdom or France, where they have opted for this movement in which they have created supermarkets and businesses that are based solely and exclusively on these products”, comments Paula.
The world is as beautiful as it is imperfect
Luckily, initiatives like Espigoladors and like those of the rest of the countries make us believe in a world that is less harmful and equally beautiful, although imperfect.
So you know, the next time you go out to buy and see that carrot, strawberry, sweet potato, apple or pear that a priori does not catch your attention From the looks of it, grab her even if she's not the most captivating; inside it will be just as good and the chain will be able to continue its course without discarding food along the way.
buy with conscience
After all... isn't it true that **life is full of second chances? **