Photo: gromgull

Among the stranger news items we’ve come across this week was this report, which announced that the European Union will be permitting “ugly” fruits and vegetables to return to store produce aisles today after a 20 year ban.

Apparently, EU members have had some pretty stringent standards for the looks of their fruits and vegetables for the past two decades, with bureaucrats declaring that “ugly produce is unworthy of the marketplace.” A total of 36 fruits and vegetables were affected by these discriminating beauty standards.

Diana Henry, a popular food personality in the UK, was quoted in the article as saying EU pols “‘don’t know what to do with their time.’” The same thought crossed my mind, as did this one: What happened to all that perfectly good food that just wasn’t pretty enough for customers’ consumption?

Community Connection:

Want to get your hands dirty? Want to know where your food comes from? Consider volunteering as a WWOOFer (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms). Laurie Pickard’s “A First-Timer’s Guide to WWOOF-ing” tells you everything you’ll need to know.