By Hsin-Yu "Maggie" Huang, UW Farm Dani Elenga Urban Farming and Environmental Intern, Medical Anthropology/ Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health Major
Celebrate Perfectly Perfect Food: Awareness on (just a small part of) Food Waste Reduction
Sorting is an important part of harvesting on the farm. We spend a fair amount of effort filtering out produce with “cosmetic quirks, odd shapes or irregular sizes” and keep the “pretty” ones for the market. Farms follow very specific guidelines created and regulated by USDA Agriculture Commodity Standards and Grades At the UW Farm, students and volunteers learn when they participate in harvests that there are particular levels of expectations based on the customer, with sales to UW Dining being the most strict.
We are always trying our best to minimize food waste, such as donating the cosmetically challenged produce to farm volunteers, local food banks and the UW Food Pantry However, the reality on almost every farm is produce with cosmetic imperfections gets undervalued or even goes to waste because they are seen less marketable. It begs the question; who gets to decide if a curly carrot is “imperfect” and “irregular”?
From the farm's washing and packing area, to the shelves of retail stores or people’s dining tables, food waste occurs at every stage of the entire lifespan of a food product. Globally, around 14% of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 17% of total global food production is wasted (11% in households, 5% in the food service and 2% in retail) (United Nation). In the US, an estimation of 30-40% of food supply becomes food waste and food loss (USDA). Though uneaten, these foods still take enormous resources to grow, harvest, package, transport, and prepare and then discard. Such an imprudent use of our food system resources can cause significant impacts across climate and natural resources, food insecurity, and the economy.
Cosmetic imperfection accounts for a large share of food loss and waste globally. In the US, approximately 20% of produce gets thrown out for cosmetic reasons like weird shapes, odd colors, or blemishes on peel (Food Waste Feast/ Why We Waste: Ugly Food, Expiration Dates, and More).
As consumers, our choices shape the food system. What are the choices we are making? Our grocery stores and markets display perfectly round tomatoes, evenly red apples, bananas that bend at the same angle, and bunches of kale containing leaves of an exact length. We seem to like things organized, clean, predictable, and controllable. We feel safe that way. However, nature has so much more than that to offer. Why settle for bland uniformity when you could chose beautiful chaos and exciting unpredictability?
Trust me. The cherry tomatoes have the same nutrition and flavor with or without a cute nose (see photo at right).
Of course, the terrifying food waste crisis we’re facing is not caused by rejecting misshapen produce alone. It is a much more complicated systematic topic. While the so-called “Ugly Food Movement” is expanding recently, it also has caused debates around the commodification of need and further gentrification of the food system. This article is not to make a statement for creating a market for the “waste,” but simply trying to show something behind those perfect stacks of produce in grocery stores, and to share different aspects and opinions on food waste.
Image 1: Some perfect Rainbow carrots
Image 2: A perfect Spaghetti squash with other Spaghetti squashes
Image 3: A perfect Patty Pan squash
Image 4: A perfect and very cute Galina cherry tomato
By Audrey Sun, Public Health-Global Health: Nutritional Sciences Major, UW Farm Fall Nutrition Education intern.
This week’s recipe will take a commonly used ingredient, cabbage, and use it in a simple, but possibly new way, that is sure to impress. Cabbage is another member of the winter hardy Brassicaceae family, and has been cultivated for thousands of years. Roughly translated from French, caboche or cabbage, means "head" for its round and dense shape.
This recipe will utilize the wonders of charring and a heavy bottomed, preferably cast iron pan. In moderation, charring can bring a delightful bitterness and balance to many dishes. From the crispy bubbles on a fresh naan out of a tandoor oven to the smoky "burnt" ends of hot barbecue on a grill. While some may associate burntness with carcinogens, small amounts are harmless and can create a lot of complexity.
Any type of cabbage can be substituted in this recipe: napa, purple, savoy, etc., are all excellent for this preparation. In this particular recipe, I will be cutting the cabbage into wedges and charring them whole but it can chop it into chunks if that is your preference (just be sure to cook it for less time).
Ingredients:
1 medium head of green cabbage (or any other cabbages), cut into 2 inch wedges with the core intact
1/4 cup of mayo
1 teaspoon vinegar (or substitute your favorite hot sauce)
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper
Olive oil, salt
Instructions:
Mix the mayo, vinegar, sugar, smoked paprika, and ground pepper in a bowl until homogeneous. Set aside.
Drizzle your cut cabbage with olive oil and sprinkle some salt.
Heat a large skillet on high, when it starts to smoke place the cabbage carefully in the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and allow to cook undisturbed for a few minutes or until the the outside has formed a slightly burnt crust (refer to the image above for a "good" amount of char). Turn the heat back up to high and flip the cabbage over, cook for another few minutes.
Once cooked, transfer to a plate and drizzle with the sauce, or serve it on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition Corner: Cabbage
Nutrition Corner:
Did you know! Cabbage is low in calorie per serving and rich in many vitamins including K and C. Cabbage is also high in fiber and contains powerful antioxidants that are used to protect your body from harm done by free radicals.
One cup of raw, chopped cabbage (89g) provides:
Calories: 22
Protein: 1 gram
Fiber: 2 grams
Vitamin K: 85% of the RDI
Vitamin C: 54% of the RDI
Folate: 10% of the RDI
Manganese: 7% of the RDI
Vitamin B6: 6% of the RDI
Calcium: 4% of the RDI
Potassium: 4% of the RDI
Magnesium: 3% of the RDI
No matter if you only have a tiny apartment deck, small garden space, or plenty of acreage you can grow fresh food in a healthier, more environmentally friendly way.
With an overall focus on limited space/resources, and the combined challenges of western Washington weather and soils, this series of speakers and topics will help beginners, as well as long time gardeners, l
When: Wednesday evenings from 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location: online using the Zoom platform.
Fee: $5 per class, or…save and take all 15 Growing Groceries classes for $50
Oct. 12 Starting a Vegetable Garden Nov. 9 Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants Dec. 7 Raising the Onion & Beet Families Jan. 11 Irrigation & Weed Management Jan. 18 Pruning Fruit Trees Jan. 25 Pea/Bean Family & Cover Cropping Feb. 1 Raising Berries in W. Washington Feb. 8 Seed Starting & Raising Transplants Feb. 15 Raising Broccoli & Buckwheat Families Feb. 22 Raising the Tomato/Potato Family Mar. 1 Using Hoop Houses & Greenhouse Mar. 8 Raising the Cucumber/Squash Family Mar. 15 Raising Carrot, Lettuce, & Corn Families Mar. 22 Raising Culinary & Tea Herbs Mar. 29 Pests, Predators, & Pollinators
Register online at GrowingGroceries.Eventbrite.com. For more information about all classes in the series, visit snohomish.wsu.edu/growing-groceries.
Sponsored by the WSU Snohomish County Extension Growing Groceries and Master Gardener programs. For more information about the program, contact Kate Ryan, (425) 357-6024, kate.ryan@wsu.edu
Urban Food Systems Lecture Series
Join the lecture series hosted by the Nutritional Sciences Program and learn about current critical topics in urban food systems! Available in-person and recorded for viewing online.
The UW Farm donates regularly to the UW Food Pantry. During peak season we also donate to nearby food banks. The links below are resources to help you or someone you know with food access.
Every year, we have the capacity to grow more food and increase our educational and research program at the UW, but not without your support. Every contribution goes to work immediately, helping us better serve students. Your support can sustain our momentum and help seed new opportunities for student internships, academic work, and future growth. Please consider making a gift to the Farm online
The Weekly Dirt is produced once a week by the University of Washington Farm, a program of the UW Botanic Gardens, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment. It is published nearly year-round for educational purposes and the majority of the content is written or contributed by students and farm staff.
This issue's contributors:
Around the Farm: Hsin-Yu "Maggie" Huang, UW Farm Dani Elenga Urban Farming and Environmental Intern, medical Anthropology/ Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health Major Recipe: Audrey Sun, UW Farm Fall Nutrition Education Intern, UW Nutrition Sciences Program Editors: Perry Acworth, Farm Manager and Chrina Munn, AmeriCorps Volunteer 2022-23 Photo Credits: Perry Acworth. Other photos retrieved from the internet and noted in sections
at every stage of the entire lifespan of a food product. Globally, around 14% of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 17% of total global food production is wasted (11% in households, 5% in the food service and 2% in retail) (
