Food Crusader Battling Walmart Could Emerge Victorious — With Your Help

Wake up, Walmart!
A new campaign wants Walmart to start selling misshapen&nbsp;produce&nbsp;at its stores in an effort to reduce food waste. Ac
A new campaign wants Walmart to start selling misshapen produce at its stores in an effort to reduce food waste. According to one estimate, 40 percent of food in the U.S. goes uneaten and most of that ends up in landfills.

Walmart is the white whale to Jordan Figueiredo’s Captain Ahab ― at once the elusive target and the mammoth opponent of the 37-year-old food activist’s obsessive, years-long crusade.


“In terms of sustainability, social benefits and even from a PR standpoint for grocers, it’s low-hanging fruit, literally,” said Figueiredo. “Walmart has so many stores ― if they start selling ugly fruits and vegetables, everyone can.”


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But two years ago, Figueiredo had an epiphany. Scrolling through images of deformed fruit, which at the time had become popular fodder for internet memes, Figueiredo realized getting people to eat the ugly produce ― considered “byproduct” by farmers and usually relegated to landfills ― would be the key to tackling the problem. And Walmart would be its ultimate battleground for that fight.


Produce judged too ugly to sell by mass market retailers in France, pictured during a campaign against food waste in the coun
Produce judged too ugly to sell by mass market retailers in France, pictured during a campaign against food waste in the country. In the U.S., most grocers do not sell such produce, which is safe and healthy for human consumption.


Sure, Whole Foods has a pilot program selling deformed mandarins otherwise rejected from supermarket shelves. At least two venture-backed startups ― including San Francisco-based Imperfect Produce, which is behind Whole Foods’ trial program ― now sell rejected produce through subscription services and retail partnerships. Kroger, the country’s largest supermarket chain by revenue, uses its excess food waste to create energy to power its warehouses.

But getting Walmart ― by the far the country’s largest grocer, as its 4,600 branded U.S. stores sold $167 billion of food last year alone  ― on board would represent a milestone in the fight to cut back on food waste.








Additionally, the company recently began an experiment to sell ugly russet potatoes at some stores in the U.S., but activists want to see a broader effort from the retail giant.

The British program may not translate across the pond, however. U.K. shoppers tend to buy more packaged produce, making it easier to sell bags of malformed fruits and vegetables. In the U.S., people usually choose from shelves of individual, loose produce.

A volunteer fills up boxes with fruit and vegetables at the "Fruta Feia" (Ugly Fruit) co-op in Lisbon on March 17, 2014. The
A volunteer fills up boxes with fruit and vegetables at the "Fruta Feia" (Ugly Fruit) co-op in Lisbon on March 17, 2014. The co-op was created to reduce food waste by giving another "destiny" to the fruit and vegetables that don't fit supermarket standards. In the U.S., a campaign is underway to convince Walmart to sell the same type of produce.

It might be some time before an ugly produce campaign would appear at the retailer’s big-box super stores. Rather, the company’s new “neighborhood market” format ― an attempt to target upscale urban shoppers used to buying goods at smaller corner stores ― may serve as a more likely venue for such efforts, Jorgensen said. (Ales said Walmart assesses its grocery programs holistically across all its stores.)


But the company, facing declining sales and intensified competition from online rivals, sits at a crossroads. Walmart established itself as a leader in sustainability over the past decade, becoming one of the biggest buyers of green energy in the country. It has also pivoted its grocery business around organic foods over the past few years ― about 2,300 Walmarts now have separate organic produce sections ― challenging Whole Foods as a cheaper alternative in the space. Tipping the scales on produce waste could help cement its bona fides as a serious player competing for the dollars of increasingly ethics-minded consumers.


Casey Williams contributed reporting.

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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the total number of stores under the Walmart banner.

CLARIFICATION: This story initially stated Walmart had no program to sell ugly produce in the U.S., based on information provided by the company. It has been updated to reflect Walmart’s recent efforts to sell some “ugly” produce. Language in the petition has also been updated.

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"Ugly" Vegetables