Rigid standards cost farmers 20 percent of their crop

The gap between industrial standards and the unpredictable whims of nature is growing. While the climate causes more variation, the industry is demanding even more uniformity. On average, 15 to 20 percent of the fruit and vegetable harvest is rejected. No Waste Army and Boerschappen are therefore launching the 'Wonky Box'. Starting in September, this initiative aims to rescue 100,000 kilograms of rejected produce every month.

Machines dictate the norm

The current market forces growers into extreme standardization of their products. In the past, a farmer would distribute their harvest among dozens of different buyers.

Stijn Markusse, co-founder of No Waste Army, outlines the changed market: "It is actually bizarre that no solution exists for this yet, even though the playing field has changed so much. In the past, a farmer might have had 25 buyers and there was always someone who said: 'just give me those small apples'. Now everything has to fit through the exact same machine. But luckily, nature refuses to be forced into a mold."

Bottleneck for organic farming

For organic farmers, the current situation is particularly challenging. Without chemical pesticides, the chance of abnormal shapes and sizes increases significantly.

The government wants to grow the share of organic agriculture from 5 to 15 percent. Yet, these growers are currently struggling to sell their harvest. The Wonky Box therefore sources at least half of its volume organically. This helps with the sale of irregular products and soil-improving cover crops.

Directly responding to weather influences

The contents of the box reflect the actual situation on the land. A surplus of broccoli caused by heatwaves ends up directly in the box. The same goes for oversized pumpkins due to heavy rainfall. Even overseas products stranded at the port are given a purpose. Think of mangoes that have discolored inside their shipping container. 

Nowastearmy.nl