A three-bill legislative package sponsored by Assembly Democrats Patricia Jones, Bob Andrzejczak, Adam Taliaferro and Eric Houghtaling to help take the stigma out of “ugly foods”, encourage the sale and consumption of blemished, but otherwise suitable foods and help reduce unnecessary food waste was released Monday by an Assembly panel.
Food waste is a major issue in the United States and globally. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, unwanted and discarded food squanders resources, including water, land, energy, labor, and capital. In addition, rotting food waste in landfills creates methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas.
In order to help reduce food waste, the “ugly food movement” has taken off around the world, particularly in Europe and Australia, where supermarkets successfully sell cosmetically imperfect foods which otherwise may have been thrown out.
“Farmers often discard fruits and vegetables that fall below cosmetic standards, supermarkets and restaurants reject them, and consumers historically have avoided them, even though they are perfectly fine to eat,” said Jones. “This is not only wasteful, but bad for the environment. We must reclaim these foods, and stop contributing to such terrible waste.”
“We need to educate people who may not realize that there are greater consequences to throwing out a fruit or vegetable because it’s not pretty to look at,” said Andrzejczak. “These efforts can help promote greater public acceptance, use, and consumption of foods that are cosmetically imperfect, but just fine for human consumption.”
“We need to rebrand these foods so consumers will stop associating blemished foods with stuff that is bad and inedible,” said Taliaferro. “Other countries are already tackling this problem. It is time for New Jersey to join the global fight against food waste.”
