The Importance of Eating Ugly Fruit
“Be skeptical and curious. Go beyond reading labels…really know your producer.” This final piece of advice from panelist April McGreger was just one response to the overarching question: if every dollar we spend is a vote for the world we want, how can we make every bite count?
During September 10th’s panel, Make Every Bite Count, heritage and heirloom food experts Eric Hallman, Executive Director of the Livestock Conservancy; Eliza Greenman, orchardist at Foggy Ridge Cider; April McGreger, founder of Farmer’s Daughter Brand; and Janette Wesley, Slow Food USA Regional Governor, provided insights into the importance of biodiversity and sustainable land and water use to a resilient food system.
Orchardist and charismatic agri-entrepreneur Eliza Greenman left a lasting impression with her parting advice: eat ugly apples. Our tendency to buy fruits and vegetables that are perfectly symmetrical, with no creases or pimples, discourages markets from carrying heirloom varieties, many of which are as unique on the outside as they are uniquely delicious on the inside. Following the panel, Greenman was mobbed by requests to visit her orchards; several Wake Forest families and groups have since made the trek and have returned energized by the possibility of expanding their relationship with new and interesting foods.
To view photos from the event and learn more about the two remaining events in our fall speaker series, visit our website and follow us on Twitter to view live tweets from the event.
Members of the audience stayed to talk more with the speakers and one another about the opportunities we have to think differently about the impacts of our food choices:
“A big take away is that there’s this tremendous variety of food, and it’s sustenance but it’s also beautiful, and it’s beautiful in the way that it preserves diversity; it’s beautiful in how it shows how we’ve done agriculture through the years. I hope that it becomes perpetuated and expanded in the future.” –Dr. Miles Silman, Professor of Biology and Director of CEES
“I was fascinated by the orchardist, she was incredible. But I also appreciated the comments by the panelists in their respective fields: what they have to contribute to sustainability and the need of diversity and the role that that plays. I’ve never thought about the diversity in meat and the importance of that; I have heard about the importance of diversity in apples; I’ve been to some markets in Virginia and there have been several varieties but I have not heard about the variety of meats. I heard my parents and their generation talk about how the meat tasted different, and I never really thought about it. But tonight it really made sense. I come away challenged to explore more of the local markets and to modify my eating habits.” – Staci Kyle (‘15), Master of Arts in Sustainability Graduate Student
“I really appreciated Eliza’s perspective, especially her combining the idea of preserving history and using story as a powerful way to change the way we eat, and, thus, change the way we look and take care of the environment. I think that’s one of the most powerful things to connect people to how we’re living.” – Sarah Millsaps (‘16), Anthropology Major