Is the Ugly Produce Movement as Beautiful as it Seems?

Most of us recognize that food waste is a major problem in our global fight against climate change—it is a waste of the resources that are used to produce, transport and package our food, and if not composted responsibly, it emits greenhouse gasses during decomposition. In the US, it is estimated that 218.5 pounds of food is wasted per person per year[1]. That may sound like a LOT of moldy leftovers stuck in the back of your fridge that you clean out once a month... but actually,  the majority of that waste is not created at a household level, but rather further upstream where the food is harvested, shipped, processed, milled, and packaged. There are storage issues and inefficiencies in transport that lead to losses all throughout the front end of the food system. For fresh produce, a measured 12-25% goes uneaten, but it is estimated that even more is lost.[2] Often, when we hear that between 30 and 40 percent of food is wasted in the US we can feel like that is our personal fault as consumers—I have definitely fallen into that shame game! While reducing food waste in your home is incredibly important, there are so many areas beyond the consumers control where food is wasted. Whether it is donated to those in need, fed to animals or composted, is normally not clear to consumers. These are questions that are hard to answer and may lead us into the complex intricacies of food system supply chains. 

Lately, we’ve seen a rise in the “Ugly Produce Movement.” This movement has mostly been started by companies like Imperfect Foods and Misfits Produce, who entered the market offering a profitable “solution” to food waste. These companies “save” produce that they claim would have otherwise gone to waste due to overproduction, cosmetic imperfection, or simply packaging misprints. This food is still safe and delicious, but for a variety of reasons will not make it to a grocery store shelf. The company then buys the food from the farmer or producer at a lower cost, and sells it to consumers through a box subscription service. Consumers save money on groceries, and help divert some of the food from an otherwise wasteful fate. I subscribed to Misfits produce for a few months when I lived in Upstate New York and loved getting the fun variety of produce delivered to my door --especially when I lived in a functional food desert without a car. The convenience and high quality produce was really awesome, and I loved feeling like I was helping make our food system a little better. 

Critics of the ugly produce movement are plenty and they have some valid points. Many claim that there is a lot of ugly produce that used to go to food banks that is now getting diverted to companies who are profiting off of a “gimmicky produce subscription box”. This may be true, but there hasn’t been a large number of reports of food banks losing their donations from farms due to these companies, so its hard to say if this claim is valid. There is definitely a “gimmick-y” feel behind the subscription’s altruistic claim that they are“saving food waste,” as it is unclear how much of the produce would have actually gone to “waste” rather than being donated. Imperfect Foods makes an active effort to donate lots of produce to local pantries, and their boxes can be found in food pantries around the country where they are being used to reduce costs for those emergency food organizations. Critics also claim that there has been a loss of support for our farmers due to a decrease in the market for CSA (community-supported-agriculture) box subscriptions. This has been documented and is true in some cases. Buying a CSA box subscription can be one of the best ways to support small local farmers. By subscribing you give farmers a bit more capital in the beginning of the season (when they are usually in huge amounts of debt buying seeds, fertilizer, etc.) and they reward you with plentiful, diverse boxes throughout the growing season. There are a limited number of individuals who are willing to subscribe to such a service, and companies like Imperfect and Misfits are taking away some of the share of the market from those small farmers. We all can only eat so many veggies right? The companies argue that they are offering a more affordable, customizable and accessible option than most CSA programs, so therefore they are expanding the market rather than taking up a share of it. 

I find the most compelling argument against these companies is that they have come up with a capitalist solution to capitalism’s problem. We should be asking ourselves why we have so much waste in the first place. It may be more useful to evaluate our rampant overproduction, unrealistic standards for goods and producers, and our producers who are unable to afford the technology to maintain food quality through processing and transport. Power dynamics between big companies like Walmart, Wegmans, etc. and farmers, allow those grocers to break a contract with a farm at any time, even if they have dedicated acres to grow a crop for them in advance. Rather than addressing the current issues in our food systems in an effort to make them more equitable, these companies have decided to profit off of the very system they claim is broken. 

Even if companies like Imperfect Foods and Misfits are profiting off of “ugly produce,” I do think they are spurring a slow but essential mindset-shift around produce, and for that I am a admittedly a huge fan. While mega grocery stores try their best to make everything they sell look consistent and identical, natural food—real plants and animals—typically don't grow up to look exactly the same. These companies have managed to get wide public attention and help us all start to understand that diversity in the shape, size and color are okay—that’s how things actually grow! Now, many grocery stores are starting to have “ugly produce” sections where they sell “misshapen” produce at a discount. I attribute the awareness of unreasonable cosmetic standards for food mostly to these companies. And while I criticize them for taking advantage of our broken system, they have also used their platforms to highlight the often crazy standards put on producers, and the often unreasonable power dynamics between growers and distributing companies. Many of their posts explaining why a product is available in a box showcases farmers who were left in the dust because something was just a little off about what they grew—usually due to factors completely out of their control. I think this helps bring more awareness to the strict conditions that farmers are under, and helps us all think more deeply about the chain that brought our food to our table. 

There are a number of issues remaining, that the “Ugly Produce Movement”, and companies like Imperfect Foods and Misfits are unable to solve, but I think the more diversity we have in our food system, the better. While we still expect to get this produce for less, which means we still fundamentally devalue produce unless it is cosmetically perfect, these companies are offering an alternative to farmers and producers who might otherwise not get any income from that product. They help divert some food from going to waste, and they offer consumers another option to buy produce and other healthy food options. I believe that a diversified market and system is fundamentally better for all those involved, and I am glad that these companies exist to offer more options for folks at the production and consumption ends of the system. 

Sources:
https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs
https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/43833/43680_eib121.pdf?v=0