General Chat

Our local Coop has started selling packs of misshapen vegetables at a lot lower price than the usual ones. The only thing "wrong" with them is that they don't conform to EU specifications regarding size, straightness etc. etc. etc. :-S :-S

They started with onions, which were not perfectly round, and then came carrots, which really were wonky - shades of "That's Life". This week they have potatoes and grapes (at half-price!). The quality is the same as usual, and they are very popular - the staff seem to be permanently re-stocking the shelves.

About time too, is my reaction. Before this they were sent for pig food, or fertiliser, or something! :-|

Our Sainsbury's has started charging 30p for each recycle bag that you put fruit & veg in thus creating a war against plastic.
Phyll

They have always been able to sell them , it is the supermarkets who dictated size, shape etc for maximum take up and sales, refusing to take any from farmers that didn't meet what was asked for, and leaving the farmers in the lurch in the process.

Watched a recent tv programme with Hugh Fearnley Whitingstall on the subject of the appalling waste of good food. Shocking :-0

I saw that too Rose. I bought myself some very light net bags with a drawstring in Lidl to put onions in as I always buy the loose ones so I can get a couple of small ones for sandwiches or salads and bigger ones for cooking other things. I buy a lot of the Wonky veg as its just as good if not better with some of it being smaller so sweeter. My chickens also love a Wonky cabbage!! I have bought the parsnips and raspberries in that range also and a couple of cauli's. When ther eis only two of you you don't need great packs of veg although nothing goes to waste in the way of food in this house because if we don't eat it the chickens and bantams will.

Very useful to have the chickens and Bantams Mel ( as well as the enjoyment of having them popping about) :-) Two of us here also so some veg does go to waste at times, but it goes in the compost bin so recycled that way.

There are no such standards. Those that did exist were withdrawn in 2008.
The supermarkets themselves are very picky but don't blame Brussels.

Who was blaming Brussels?

Read the opening post.

In fact, it was often the CUSTOMER who dictated that the supermarkets should stock perfect fruits and veggies ........

.......... 30 or 40 years ago they wouldn't buy "wonky" ones, whether that be misshapen, marked or whatever.They would pick over the stock whenever possible picking out the "good" ones.

That eventually led to the market for "organic" veggies and fruit, whereby the buyers believed they were buying better at famers' markets or "organic stores" .................. some (and occasionally many) of those were NOT organic, but misshapen and marked ones just taken from the big grower. BUT they sold at a higher price.

Now supermarkets are realising that they can sell the "wonky" veggies albeit at a cheaper price, instead of throwing them out or sending them to the local Food Bank. And you are all praising them for it!!

There has been quite a movement in the US and here for people proving that you could live happily and healthily (and not homeless) for free by "dumper diving" in the dumpers behind supermarkets after closing time, recovering perfectly fresh fruit, veggies, bread, meats, etc, thrown out because they're at the buy before date or "wonky".

We've long eaten wonky tomatoes, potatoes, berries, peas, and broad beans because OH has a small veggie patch!!!

That's just like anyone who has access to home-grown or "buy at the farm gate" food has done.

Sylvia, I won't say who was bin diving as it was frowned upon and the bins subsequently locked but a few years ago a certain supermarket we were near was dumping huge amounts of use-able food, including things like 11 eggs in a box because the twelfth was missing, perfectly good veg that perhaps just needed the outer leaves taken off. and wrapped bread that had a good day or two to go, and much else besides.

As someone said to me this week, when (as seems possible if not probable ) the price of veg goes up and supply is limited by brexit ( if that happens) it will be a case of being grateful to get any veg, wonky or otherwise!

Rose ................

the homeless people often dumpster dive, but I was talking about were the employed and housed, often middle income ones who did it to prove a point.

There were several doing it down in California and some in Vancouver who would blog about it.

One of the couples up here even made a point of supplying friends with food collected from the dumpsters behind supermarkets because they would collect so much of it!

They didn't exactly keep quiet about what they were doing, and other people admired them.

It does seem now that many of those supermarkets give that kind of food stuff to the local Food Banks for distribution.