Hello Seedlings!
Here are some thoughts I was discussing with Gamora.
You might be asking, why is a greeting card and paper business talking about food? well, We are a green business, as much as
we humanly can be, not like green washing business that claim to be perfect at saving the planet, but as a married couple that actually takes
the time to process if is it worth to kill the environment because ... convenience.
A couple weeks days ago, there was a report from CBC News talking about how eating the '' Ugly produce '' Help fighting food waste and will save
some money in your grocery bill! And the article is great! but something that really call my attention is the word '' Perfect produce '' and how
having no perfect produce in our shelves is impossible. I really Can't grasp the idea that someone can look for a perfect looking food, I mean seriously,
are you going to photograph your food for a model agency?
Food is the raw product of labor, is dirty and has texture, crevasses and it doesn't have to be in any way perfect, the fact that we are focusing on the perfection of the food makes me realized that is more important than a pepper
is looking good rather it's nutritional value.
Now before you say '' But Jose! the article talks about how farmers can sell their products at a lower cost so these apples, cauliflowers and others
do not go to waste! that is very good! '' and you are right my friend it is really good! in fact the idea of supporting farmers in this way is
simply amazing because tons of food destined to the landfills are now on the shelves at a discounted price! the problem in my humble opinion goes
beyond that, goes to the fact that we have been used to the convenience of perfect produce, perfect looking round tomatoes, gigantic peppers and
prefect curated plastic wrapped cucumbers.
According to the official Government of Canada website, - More than half of Canada’s food supply is wasted annually and nearly $50 billion - we think
that much wasted of food is avoidable, by encouraging more solutions to food waste in Canadian society, we can increase food availability, save consumers and
businesses money and strengthen our food systems, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.-----
This happens for different reasons household waste is a big one, but also supermarket food supply - Bakeries that toss the bread at the end of the shift,
produce that is not looking the best goes to the trash and most of it is not donated for '' liability reasons '' in other words, fear to be sued if
anything make someone sick or related.
This kinda bothers me, for 2 reasons: 1 - 50 billion in food waste? really??? there was no other option for that food?
pickle it, give it to food banks, freeze it? and 2 - why in the fuck, as people, in the same planet, don't we realize that food waste is the byproduct of our
extreme comfort and commodity, and if so, why to waste it while there is hungry people IN CANADA!
However I'm no expert in the matter and I'm just an Artist with ideas and opinions, and I would like to know what do you think about this. Comment below if this is something
you also have thought about and maybe I'm an idiot who is wrong, but hey! My opinion might be wrong, but the only way to know that is having this conversation with more people!
so we can all share and learn to make this place better for all of us!
Happy planting!
