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| Too curvy or just right? Photo: cyborgsuzy/flickr |
"July 1 marks the return to our shelves of the curved cucumber and the knobbly carrot," Mariann Fischer Boel, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, says. "More seriously, this is a concrete example of our drive to cut unnecessary red tape ... It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the 'wrong' size and shape."
For years, the European Commission regulated the size and shape of fruits and vegetables sold on the continent.
The Commission has repealed standards for 26 items: apricots, artichokes, asparagus, eggplant, avocados, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflowers, cherries, zucchini, cucumbers, cultivated mushrooms, garlic, hazelnuts in shell, headed cabbage, leeks, melons, onions, peas, plums, ribbed celery, spinach, walnuts in shell, watermelons and chicory.
Ten items, accounting for 75 percent of all fresh produce sold, will still be regulated for size and appearance. They are apples, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, lettuces, peaches and nectarines, pears, strawberries, sweet peppers, table grapes and tomatoes. However, retailers can still sell blemished items from this category provided they label them "intended for processing."
Officials hope the new rules will cut down on waste.
"Producers and suppliers won't be stuck with as many leftovers, so there'll be less food waste," Jim Fitzpatrick, Britain's Food and Farming Minister, told the Telegraph newspaper.
7-04-2009 @6:22AM Jason said... Are you kidding me.....this is a joke right. I am sure Europe has its fair share of homeless people and hungry families and they are regulating sizes of fruits and vegetables and then throwing it all away. How many millions of dollars errrrr euros do you think were just throw away in the past 20 years? I can't believe we are in the 21st century and still have governments acting this way. Unreal.
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7-04-2009 @6:45AM wes said... This seems to be a waste. All the fruits and vegetables look disgusting in Europe. What were they hiding before? Did they not can them as any other country would do?
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7-04-2009 @7:50AM mattie2310 said... regulate the size and shape of fruits and vegetables sold and they throw the less than perfect ones away? Are they for real!! Come on, whats wrong with any that are not perfect? Do they taste different? I think not. And 20 years they've been doing this! Shame on them. And yes all governments waste. I saw it when my Dad worked for them. Unbelievable, if you saw what they through away, it would have made you sick. Shame, shame on all of them.
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7-04-2009 @8:15AM Roberta said... Oh good grief, whats next? Throwing out ugly people??
We have people starving to death and they were throwing away unperfect food.
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7-04-2009 @8:31AM Stephanie said... This was all about subsidizing farmers. If they are "forced" to throw out ugly produce, that limits the supply and keeps prices up. It's a small step, considering the huge subsidies the EU (and the US) lavish on farmers, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
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7-04-2009 @8:49AM bigun said... hey Stephanie i wish you could tell me where all of us farmers and ranchers can line up for all this free money....you need to remember the farmers are the ones that feed you.your food does not grow in cans at your supermarket!!!
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7-04-2009 @9:32AM LCV said... Governments take care of farmers? What? Jeeze, last time I knew, dairy farmers were going down the drain because they were getting paid less and less for their milk while the cost of production was going up.
The farmers are the ones the government SHOULD be taking care of, not the auto giants. A farmer I know killed himself two weeks ago because he got his milk check in and couldn't even afford to pay the interest on his loans. Not because he had outstanding loans, but because the check was so small.
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7-04-2009 @9:40AM janice hampton said... Classic example of "Food Prejudice".
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7-04-2009 @9:45AM vlinder2002 said... Americans waste and throw away more food than other people in the world. Food is cheap here. Look at all-you-can-eat-restaurants; plates are piled sky high, and only 1 or 2 bites are taken. Look around you. Do you see food that is not uniform and beautiful in our food markets?
As to poverty in Europe, Jeffrey Sachs, Harvard professor and leading American economist had this to say on 1/8/2009.
"...many Americans consoled themselves with the believes that at least we are better off than people in other rich nations. No more. When you compare the US with Canada, Western Europe and Japan, the news is sobering. Our child-poverty and infant mortality are the highest, our life expectancy is the lowest, our budget deficit as a share of of GDP is the highest, and our 15-year-olds rank among the lowest on tests of math and sciences.
....The European strategy, with levels of taxation 8-10% of GDP higher than in the US, has many successes to show for it: less costly and more reliable health care, the ELIMINATION OF HARD-CORE POVERTY, solid educational achievements, and social services that ensures better care for children and more flexibility for mothers and the elderly".
I say the time for reform is now. Finger pointing and having the pot accusing the kettle to be black will not do it. Only pharisees thanked God that they were better than the others. Superhumans (u"ber mensch) and subhumans (untermensch) do not exist. Even Superman was not American, but an alien.
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7-08-2009 @4:00PM Dave said... And these are the folks Obama wants us to model our society after? Europeans? Give me a break!
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7-04-2009 @10:03AM pd39 said... The US has these same type of regulations. That is why there are so many farmers markets. The farmer can sell from his own property or a communal that fruit and veggie that the FDA or other government interference agencys deem less than perfect. I usually go to the local Mexican marcado. They sell stuff directly from Mexico that apperently doesn't fall under govmnt control. And it's usually a LOT cheaper than what I find at Staters, Safeway, Vons, Ralphs, or any of the others.
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7-04-2009 @11:40AM Dave Rotthoff said... What Europeans OUGHT to be doing is getting rid of ugly French cars. Thank God Chrysler wasn't bought by Renault!
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7-04-2009 @10:22AM John said... This is just too much. What the hell is wrong woith people? There was a time in Europe where they ate bread made of sawdust. They are snobs to have such a law. Just unbelieveable.
The crap that goes on in this world at times is just too much to handle.But I do survive it all.Live my own life and screw folks like the ones who made such an idotic law.
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7-04-2009 @10:11AM Cheryl said... About 20 years ago, I heard that in England after WW2, the country was short of food. So they had to come up with high yeild and fast growing varietys to feed the nation. This also produced poor quality and in some instances tasteless food. Pumpkin is considered only good as animal fodder over in England.
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7-04-2009 @10:14AM Kayla said... This is ridiculous! Has the planet become so shallow that we have to get rid of "ugly" vegetables? This is food we need to help feed everyone. I can't believe how low people have become. Throwing away food is a stupid thing to do.
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7-04-2009 @10:25AM Emily said... Less-than-perfect produce is taboo, but people who smoke like chimneys and act like self-involved snobs are okay. Anyone else wonder about this?
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7-04-2009 @10:52AM Robert Tosi said... I don't know what the hell their talking about. I've been to Italy 4 times and the produce there looks disgusting!! It tastes great but most americans would never buy fruits and vegetables that looked like they do there.
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7-04-2009 @11:16AM Steph said... you guys realize that they do this in the U.S. too right?
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7-04-2009 @11:34AM justanotheropinion said... I thought they were going to lift this ugly ban so Amy Winehouse could live there
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7-04-2009 @11:37AM watermelon2 said... I once did a mechanical installation in Europe. I got in trouble for using tools of my own choosing.Plugging an American drill into a transformer, and because I owned the tools instead of trusting my employer to purchase the right tools (!)They wanted to regulate everything except the Europeans. I formed the opinion that the EU was a bunch of interfering weenies. Maybe the newness is wearing off and they are finally climbing dfown off their cross. Boy its about time!
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