Graffiti Earth is Reducing Food Waste One Dish at a Time

In this episode of "Sustain," we will learn about the buy-ugly movement through the eyes of Chef Jehangir Mehta, a world-renowned chef who explores ways to reduce his food wastage footprint. Mumbai-born Mehta, the runner-up on Food Network's The Next Iron Chef, attributes his innate ability to finding the best ways to reduce waste to being from a third-world country, like India. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, 40 percent of food grown and produced in the United States never gets eaten. And an alarming 52 percent of fruits and vegetables that are being produced never make it to your fork. Mehta does not place the blame only on retailers, who have to deal with the pressures of having fully stocked displays and the expectations of cosmetic perfection, but he also accuses the consumer of exercising produce prejudice when they see a blemished fruit or vegetable and turn the other way. Generally, it's hard to get produce scraps, however, Mehta has worked with many of the farmers he frequents in the market in other restaurant-unrelated projects and has had the chance to build positive relationships with them. These relationships mutually benefit each party, since farmers reduce food waste by giving away their blemished, twisted, deformed or "ugly" food, that they know consumers will not typically purchase, to a chef who would put the food to good use, and, in turn, Mehta receives the fruits and vegetables for free or at a discounted rate. To learn more, watch the episode!