Whole Foods Plans To Start Selling Ugly Veggies For This Awesome Reason

Ugly veggies are veggies too.

That's the concept behind Whole Foods' new initiative, which will bring otherwise unsellable “ugly” produce — the misshapen, the bruised, the discolored — to store shelves nationwide.

Set to launch next month in a handful of Northern California stores, the program seeks to cut down on food waste by giving consumers the opportunity to buy produce that, for cosmetic reasons, would otherwise be discarded.

According to the United Nations, the US throws away 133 billion pounds of food annually, or about a third of its entire food supply. Grocery stores account for 10 percent of that waste.

In a statement, Whole Foods said,

Our goal is zero waste and we're always looking for ways to reduce our collective impact and positively influence the industry.

Indeed, the grocery giant has long used “ugly” produce in its prepared foods and salads. As the first large-scale campaign to involve consumers in waste-reduction efforts, however, the chain's new initiative has the opportunity to change the way we consume (literally and figuratively) our produce.

Read more here and learn about Whole Foods' partner in the program, Bay Area startup Imperfect Produce, here.

Citations: Whole Foods is about to start selling ugly fruits and veggies (Tech Insider), Startups see potential in 'ugly food' rejected by supermarkets (USA Today)