Hello My Name Is Arnold the Carrot

When you imagine an apple, what does it look like? It’s probably round, red, and shiny. But in reality, most apples aren’t so picture-perfect. Many are off-color or lumpy. These apples are still good to eat—they just don’t look exactly “right.” Farms and grocery stores assume that people don’t want to buy misshapen or discolored produce. That’s why, every year, millions of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables are thrown out before they even hit store shelves—simply because they are considered “ugly.” 

Sometimes ugly produce is fed to livestock or used to create other products, like applesauce or apple juice. But most of the time, it’s sent to a landfill, where it rots. As it breaks down, it releases methane. This powerful greenhouse gas traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere, causing global average temperatures to rise. Producing food also requires a lot of resources. So when it’s tossed without being eaten, the energy used to grow it, harvest it, and transport it all goes to waste (see Why Food Is Wasted).

When you picture an apple, what does it look like? It’s probably round, red, and shiny. But really, most apples aren’t so picture-perfect. Many are off-color or lumpy. These apples are still good to eat. They just don’t look exactly “right.” Farms and grocery stores think that people won’t buy misshapen or discolored produce. So millions of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables are thrown out every year, before they even reach store shelves. The reason? They are considered “ugly.” 

Sometimes ugly produce is fed to livestock. Or it’s used in other products, like applesauce or apple juice. But usually, it’s sent to a landfill and rots. As it breaks down, it releases methane. This powerful greenhouse gas traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere. That causes global average temperatures to rise. Plus, a lot of resources are needed to produce food. Energy is used to grow, harvest, and transport it. When food is tossed without being eaten, all that energy goes to waste (see Why Food Is Wasted).

Kim and Yoon’s hypothesis, or proposed answer to their research question, was that people would be more likely to buy ugly food if it had humanlike qualities. They decided to use faces and names to anthropomorphize their subjects.

Kim and Yoon proposed an answer to their research question. Their hypothesis was that people are more likely to buy ugly food if it has humanlike qualities. So they used faces and names to anthropomorphize their subjects.

Our past experiences can affect future decisions we make without us even realizing it. Psychologists call this phenomenon priming. Normally, when you walk into the supermarket, you are primed to expect each type of produce, like carrots, to all look the same—because that’s what you’re used to. And when it comes to ugly produce, people are primed to believe they’re of lower quality or not as tasty as more visually appealing produce. Even using words like “ugly” or “misshapen” can create negative feelings. “With just a little tweak, we could change the way people process things,” says Yoon.

Our past experiences can affect our future decisions. And we may not even realize it. Psychologists call this effect priming. Normally, you walk into a supermarket and all of each type of produce, like carrots, look the same. So you are primed to expect this. And people are primed to believe that ugly produce is of lower quality or less tasty than more attractive produce. Even words like “ugly” or “misshapen” can create negative feelings. “With just a little tweak, we could change the way people process things,” says Yoon.

Giving produce a name and face primes customers to think of each fruit or vegetable as a unique individual. “We’re changing the beauty standards by having consumers evaluate each piece of produce in its own way,” says Yoon. If they see Taylor, the lumpy lemon, in a store, they’ll probably think he’s adorable and deserves to be taken home.

Kim and Yoon hope their experiments will help save ugly fruits and veggies from the scrap heap. If consumers are more open-minded, says Kim, they might be more willing to buy imperfect produce, reducing food waste. “Just a quick, simple tweak of our perception will change minds,” says Kim. “So why not try it?”

Putting names and faces on produce also primes customers. It makes them think of each fruit or vegetable as a unique individual. “We’re changing the beauty standards by having consumers evaluate each piece of produce in its own way,” says Yoon. Customers might see Taylor, the lumpy lemon, in a store. They’ll probably think he’s cute and deserves to be taken home.

Kim and Yoon want to save ugly fruits and veggies from the scrap heap. They hope their experiments will help. If consumers are more open-minded, they might be more willing to buy imperfect produce, says Kim. That would reduce food waste. “Just a quick, simple tweak of our perception will change minds,” she says. “So why not try it?”