By By Karen Graham Mar 6, 2016 in Food Instead of calling that misshapen looking potato or melon ugly, retailers are now using the expression "cosmetically challenged," or "produce with personality," as one food chain is doing in a pilot program started in the Pittsburgh region. For years, consumers have been programmed to believe that only the most perfect, beautiful-looking and spotless vegetables and fruits are good enough to be purchased and served to their families. And because of that marketing ploy, millions of tons of perfectly good food was thrown out. Roughly 40 percent of food produced in America never makes it to the table. It either rots in the field, is trashed at the supermarket, or thrown out at home. PBS Newshour Now, another food chain has joined the global movement to "re-educate" consumers on the benefits of taking home less-than-perfect produce for their meals. I say re-educate because that is exactly what it's going to take to help in ending food waste. Some supermarkets have "testing tables" set up to encourage shoppers to try ugly fruit or produce, and it seems to work. It stands to reason that if a consumer comes to realize the shape or coloration of a piece of produce doesn't affect its taste, then the shopper will be more apt to buy the item. "Produce with Personality" Giant Eagle is now the largest U.S. supermarket chain to join the Last summer, Raley's, with 100 stores in California and Nevada, started a pilot program at 10 stores, modeling it on a The posters created for the campaign to sell Inglorious fruits and vegetables were really clever and eye-catching. The posters included images of the grotesque apple, the ridiculous potato, the hideous orange, the failed lemon, the disfigured eggplant, the ugly carrot, and the unfortunate clementine. French grocery chain Intermarche decided to see what would happen if they bought the produce that was normally thrown away and tried to sell it in their stores for a promotion they called, "The Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables." YouTube “We were noticing this more global trend and wanted to play our part,” Giant Eagle spokesman Dan Donovan said. “We’re always looking for new ways to deliver value to our customers. If you can participate in the worldwide effort to reduce food waste, that is fantastic as well.” Roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year, approximately 1.3 billion tons, gets lost or wasted, and people around the globe have started paying attention to these sobering statistics.For years, consumers have been programmed to believe that only the most perfect, beautiful-looking and spotless vegetables and fruits are good enough to be purchased and served to their families. And because of that marketing ploy, millions of tons of perfectly good food was thrown out.Now, another food chain has joined the global movement to "re-educate" consumers on the benefits of taking home less-than-perfect produce for their meals. I say re-educate because that is exactly what it's going to take to help in ending food waste.Some supermarkets have "testing tables" set up to encourage shoppers to try ugly fruit or produce, and it seems to work. It stands to reason that if a consumer comes to realize the shape or coloration of a piece of produce doesn't affect its taste, then the shopper will be more apt to buy the item.Giant Eagle is now the largest U.S. supermarket chain to join the environmental movement to sell ugly fruits and vegetables. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and 229 stores in five eastern states, Giant Eagle has started a pilot program in its Pittsburgh stores, making it the first major supermarket chain to offer ugly produce in the region.Last summer, Raley's, with 100 stores in California and Nevada, started a pilot program at 10 stores, modeling it on a marketing campaign used by the third largest supermarket chain in France, Intermarché, in 2014 called "Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables." That campaign proved to be a huge success and the basics of that marketing program are being copied around the globe in some way or another.The posters created for the campaign to sell Inglorious fruits and vegetables were really clever and eye-catching. The posters included images of the grotesque apple, the ridiculous potato, the hideous orange, the failed lemon, the disfigured eggplant, the ugly carrot, and the unfortunate clementine. Civil Eats says in Canada, large supermarket chains like Safeway, IGA, and Loblaws have all had success in selling ugly fruits and vegetables — imperfect produce is finding its niche with food shoppers. And it doesn't seem to matter what the misshapen or sometimes oddly colored produce looks like, but the fact that the items are sold at up to 50 percent the cost of "perfect" produce is a real money-saver.“We were noticing this more global trend and wanted to play our part,” Giant Eagle spokesman Dan Donovan said. “We’re always looking for new ways to deliver value to our customers. If you can participate in the worldwide effort to reduce food waste, that is fantastic as well.” This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com More about Food waste, produce with personality, cosmetically challenged, Seconds, pilot program Food waste produce with persona... cosmetically challen... Seconds pilot program