A few days ago, I watched ‘War on Waste’ for the first time, an informative program on the ABC and it really opened my eyes about how much waste is produced in the world. But one of the things that really motivated me to go and write this discussion was the idea of perfectionism. The behavior and habits behind consumer spending within supermarkets.
But what does consumer habits have to do with waste, I hear you ask… walk with me on this journey and you will find out.
Think about this: it's summer! you know what that means? I get to buy tons of cherries and oranges … I don’t know about you but
1. cherries always remind me of Christmas
2. I love having oranges on a hot summer's day .. freshly squeezed orange juice 😍
BUT before I walk into my nearest retail shop they need to travel from the farm right?
The farmers are happy because summer is the harvesting season. They can continue to sell stock but WAIT …
1. that orange just isn’t the right colour.
2. no, that lady finger banana isn’t the right shape.
3. The supermarkets won’t buy this batch of cherries off ‘the farmer’ because they're not the right colour.
Let me ask you something: Would you buy a box of cherries if they weren’t that delicious red that reminds you of Santas hat on Christmas day?
Would you buy them if they weren’t shiny?
What if they weren’t perfectly round … the cherries have a small dent … would you still buy it?
What if I told you that they were for a cheaper price because they do not meet ‘retail and consumer standards’??
Now on the risk of calling people out, I know on paper this all seems silly and yes you may still buy these cherries but I believe it's because your imagination is filling the gaps. You're visualising something you want to see. I want to show you what I mean by these ‘imperfect’ cherries.
The cherries below have dents:
These are quite dark.
But would you still buy them?
Since when did this cherry...
Become different to this one?
No one thinks about it because it's a habit, you look for the perfect box of cherries before putting it in your basket or trolley. But so many farmers are throwing away edible food because they do not meet the standards (which I will get to in a moment).
I will be the first to admit, I had no idea farmers wasted so much fresh produce. I will also be the first to admit that when it comes to apples.. if it ain’t shiny or pink I don’t pick it… and why? because all around me, the marketing professionals have always pitched perfect apples as dark pink / light red. But the apple in the corner that's not so pink, it's still an apple.
I am writing this discussion as a way to primarily call out the nonsense of dark red cherries not being good enough or apples not being pink enough. The second reason is because I want to share this. City dwellers such as myself are blind to the reality of the situation because not enough recognition is brought to this issue.
( fun fact and a relevant tangent: I bought cherries today and I saw a punnet which was bright
red and shiny and then I saw a punnet that was a mix. Guess which one I picked up first? The shiny bright red ones. Now guess which one’s I brought? the punnet with a mix of light and dark).
Now I talk about these standards, as if some high power invented them and you and I have no control over it.
No. It's our problem too. So let’s start to change slowly.
It's a cycle: the supermarket caters to the needs of consumers and follows changes in trends and habits but the habit is reinforced by the marketing consumers view and the marketing supermarkets create.
Why am I talking about consumer behaviour? because I want to spread awareness for rethinking what perfectionism is. I think if the habit can change, supermarkets will be forced to. This is a slow process but it's possible.
Harris Farm is a perfect example of a supermarket who has catered to recent changes in consumer trends. They sell produce that isn’t perfect. Yes the cucumber isn’t perfectly straight, No the apple isn’t dark pink. No, the cherries aren’t super shiny. Yes. It’s still edible and safe food.
Here's a great link to prove my point https://www.harrisfarm.com.au/blogs/campaigns/imperfect-picks ( the video is only 34 seconds long)
Now I am not saying, you need to go buy a wonky pear and eat it in a meeting in front of everyone but you can still eat it whether you cut it up first or you choose to eat it at home. You can still eat it.
By rethinking waste we can help reduce food waste and help support Australian farmers who are throwing away precious food. If you do not believe me, please go watch war on waste, or here: https://www.facebook.com/abcinbrisbane/videos/10159522671285543/ ( the video does not require you to have a facebook account)
It would be ignorant of me if I were to avoid the elephant in the room, a lot of the time fresh produce is wasted because of transportation damage in the first place… and this is the most crucial thing I want people to understand, I do not mean for you to go buy bruised produce because you don’t want it going to waste. There is no point spending money on something that you will not eat.
I am not here to call anyone out or to make fun of anybody… So I am sorry if this may offend some but who has been to the supermarket and you pretend to look at something while you wait for the person to move away from the strawberries that are 2 for $4?? I have. I’ve seen people pick up a punnet and put it down and 2 punnets later they picked up the first one and I'm standing there going, if that punnet was good enough, why pick up the other two? and yes people want to check all the options for the ‘better punnet’ but by handling the boxes more and more frequently the probability that the food becomes bruised and damage increases.
So maybe if we stopped picking up every single punnet things might stay fresher for longer?
This brings me to my second reason as to why produce may go to waste, people overspend and the food goes in the bin because ‘they didn’t get around to eating it and now it’s gone off’
If we can change our habits and attitude to buying just enough then less food will be wasted which will result in a better outcome. Now this doesn’t mean I am asking everyone to go on a diet and buy only bread and milk or go shopping three times a week and just buy smaller potions each time. All I ask is that if you realise you're buying too much of one thing, reduce it.
My third reason as to why produce often goes to waste is similar to my first. The packaging and handling of food isn’t done carefully enough. If food gets bruised, fewer people are going to buy it. So reduce the risk of people being able to bruise and damage the product in the first place by handling the product with more care.
I want to leave you with this thought before I finish: If the produce is slightly damaged supermarkets could give it to charity stalls for the homeless which can help reduce waste. If you look closely enough, life has many simple solutions to everyday problems. So why isn’t more being done about it?
I want to make clear I am not writing this to make farmers richer so they can sell more. I am simply writing this because I don’t think edible food should go to waste if it can be avoided. I also think throwing food away based on appearance is ridiculous.
To the person reading this, I hope this has opened your eyes as much as the program ‘War on Waste’ has with me and that it was informative.
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