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https://theconversation.com/climate-affected-produce-is-here-to-stay-heres-what-it-takes-for-consumers-to-embrace-it-248776>
"The economic cost of food waste in Australia is staggering. It’s estimated
$36.6 billion is lost to the economy every year. Much of our fresh produce
never even makes it to stores, rejected at the farm gate due to cosmetic
reasons, such as its appearance, size or ripeness.
We’ve known about this problem for a long time, which has given rise to the
“ugly” food movement. Once-rejected produce has been rebranded as “wonky” in
the UK, “inglorious” in France, “naturally imperfect” in Canada or an “odd
bunch” in Australia.
While the existence of these campaigns is commendable, there’s another major
marketing challenge if we want to reduce food waste - acceptance of
climate-affected produce.
Broadly speaking, this refers to produce affected by extreme or moderate
weather events. Droughts are an example of such climate events, predicted to
become more intense and frequent as a result of global climate change.
Climate-affected produce resembles “ugly” food as it is often smaller,
misshapen or has surface imperfections.
But in contrast to “ugly” food, the taste and texture of climate-affected
produce can be quite different.
Under the effects of drought, apples may become sweeter and more granular,
chillies hotter and onions more pungent. In the case of mild or moderate
droughts, such produce is still edible.
Our recent research points to some uncomfortable truths. Many consumers prefer
to avoid climate-affected produce altogether. And when price is a factor, they
won’t choose it without a discount.
But our research also offers suggestions on how purchases of such produce could
be encouraged – including marketing messages that highlight the “resilience” of
climate-affected produce."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
