The Psychology of Eating Imperfect Produce
No doubt you’re aware of two negative consequences of consumers expecting picture-perfect produce. 1) Growers are incentivized to use more pesticides and herbicides to prevent imperfections, which is bad for consumers’ health and for the environment. And 2) ugly, but perfectly edible, nutritious, food is wasted. As much as 30% isn’t worth the cost of harvesting and therefore stays in the field. Grocery retailers throw away another cut, restaurants throw out some more, and I’ll bet you even toss some into the compost bin in your own kitchen. Here’s one more problem with our expectation that our produce should be lovely and perfect; the stuff coming out of our own gardens can look downright pathetic compared to what we think it should look like.
If you’re a food-grower, I know you can relate. I look down at my misshapen strawberries and think how can I possibly congratulate myself? Sure, I’ve kept a strawberry patch going for three years, with a bigger yield year-on-year. But look at them — two sizes too small, compared with what I find at the grocery store, reminding me of the Grinch’s heart. The catbird that visits our yard pecked at a few, leaving scissor-like nips. That bold bird did it even as I stood not two meters away! It’s not that I mind sharing; I could’ve put a net over them. What bothered me was that it seemed like she was taunting me. You aren’t seriously thinking of presenting these to your family, she seemed to say. Are my young children, who are now thrilled at finding the prize of a ripe strawberry, going to one day refuse to eat them? Will I hear, They don’t look as good as the ones from the store!
And this is just the beginning — it’s only May! This year, I’ll have to console myself over imperfect tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, carrots, cabbages, apples and peaches before the year is through. But not broccoli, oh no, because that was so pathetic a few years ago that I have refused to even plant it ever since.
“Buying unattractive produce negatively impacts consumers’ view of themselves…”
Who are we trying to please, we can ask ourselves. Spouses? Children? In-laws? I wasn’t sure myself. Then I learned the real answer from my investigation into commercial food waste. Researchers investigating why consumers won’t buy imperfect produce reported, “We found a surprising underlying cause … buying unattractive produce negatively impacts consumers’ view of themselves, causing a drop in self-perceptions.” If simply buying a pepper that doesn’t look quite perfect is a blow to our self-esteem, of course it’s going to leave a mark when it comes out of our very own gardens. All those hours of tending seeds to germination, hardening off in the early spring, transplanting, improving soil with compost, weeding, watering…what have I done wrong?!?!
I have three solutions to make this year’s growing experience your most rewarding ever.
First, recognize that harvesting is only step one in creating beautiful dishes. Taking raw ingredients and turning them into eye-catching, mouth-watering meals is an art unto itself. If it weren’t, would there be so many food selfies in Facebook newsfeeds? Your short, stocky carrot can be transformed into a delectable halwa. Your marred spinach can indeed become a perfect quiche.
Next, plant a few no-fail crops this year. Here are my suggestions for sure-fire perfection for those days that you need it. Parsley, lovage (which has the added benefit of being “exotic”), orange mint and oregano. These are hard-to-kill, highly productive, insect-resistant, super-flavorful garden show-pieces that are easy to incorporate into a meal.
“You are fantastic! Pick ugly produce!”
My last solution comes straight from the research that is helping consumers overcome the self-esteem issues associated with buying imperfect produce. The goal of “motivating consumers to buy ugly fruits and vegetables” was achieved by “providing in-store advertising with targeted messaging (e.g., “You are fantastic! Pick ugly produce!”).” The simple fix of including an affirming message about the shopper, rather than the usual, generic advertisement that is only about the product, “increases shoppers’ willingness to buy unattractive produce by 22.4%.”
To translate this solution to your garden, incorporate a few well-placed garden placards. “I am kind, I am valuable, I am strong enough to eat an imperfect pepper.” “I am worth loving. This weird cucumber is worth eating.” I’m sure you can find someone on Etsy to make them. Sure, they will look a little ridiculous, but it’s kind of an absurd problem in the first place. And when, with great satisfaction, you feed your home-grown veg to your spouse/child/in-law, be sure to tell them they are wonderful people for eating it, especially if it has a visible imperfection — after all, you don’t want them leaving the table with poor self-esteem.
