According to Statistics Canada, between January 20, the largest increases in food prices were found in the produce aisle, with fresh fruit and vegetables surging 12.9 and 18.2 per cent, respectively. Leap onto 'ugly' bandwagonĬanada's leap onto the "ugly" French bandwagon was driven mainly by significant increases in produce prices, which in turn were caused by the sinking Canadian dollar and factors such as California's ongoing drought. I look at the tomatoes, glistening in their bin, and feel like I should put on some lipstick and fix my hair. Plums shine lusciously back at me, seeming to mock my bare face and sweatpants. Apples and cucumbers are waxed to perfection. It's gotten to the point that when I go grocery shopping, I feel like the produce is better made-up than I am. And so the lumpy squash sits on the shelf, like a wallflower at a junior high school dance. The mindset seems to be: "If it's pretty, it's better." That there is no scientific proof to back up this way of thinking doesn't seem to come into it for most people. Good looks (symmetry of facial features) tend to smooth the way for people, and it seems the same is true for produce. It reminds me of high school, when the cute girls and boys were assumed to be brighter and more talented. Next time you're shopping, do yourself and the planet a favour and give that oddball onion or asymmetrical apple a second look. It was at that time that advances in genetic manipulation ensured that producers could have a product that was fundamentally more perfect-looking and (presumably) more beneficial to your health. Maybe it was during the Second World War, when agriculture became more industrialized, which resulted in the look of many fruits and vegetables becoming much more homogenous. Where did the idea come from that only perfectly formed fruit and vegetables are worth consuming?
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