A trio of “ugly fruit,” burger blues and invasive species | Food and Environment Reporting Network

“Tempting Europe with Ugly Fruit” is headline of New York Times story about a cooperative in Portugal that buys fruit and vegetables rejected under EU food marketing law and sells the goods to customers by circumvention of labeling requirements. Organizer Isabel Soares tells the Times her goal is “to break the dictatorship of aesthetics, because it has really helped increase food wastage.” Huge amounts of food are discarded in Europe, says the story, which notes the EU is to publish recommendation in June to fight food waste.

“Bacon Burger Blues” is a Politico story about the rising price this year of ingredients for the prototypical American cook-out entree. “Consumers can expect to pay about 32 cents more per burger than they did a year ago,” says the story, blaming “a perfect storm of drought, disease and strong demand.” USDA puts the price at $3.89, up 9 percent. With drought in California, tomatoes and lettuce could be next, says Politico.

“Can the U.S. eliminate invasive species by eating them?” asks an Associated Press story that notes lionfish was marketed successfully as a delicacy. Other invaders, such as Asian carp or feral hogs may be a more difficult target, says the story, which notes the mixed message of creating a market for food items when the goal is to eliminate them. Says one conservationist, eating the invasive species is not a silver bullet.