Currently, some 40 percent of the food grown in America is wasted because it spoils either before hitting supermarkets or on the shelf. Up in smoke along with: all of the resources (water for growth, gas for trucking) that get those foodstuffs to the stores in the first place. Knowing all this, farmers will often pick fruit before it’s ripe, which is also not when it’s at its most nutritious.
However, the enterprising agricultural scientists at Apeel Sciences have an ingenious and ironic solution, which the FDA just certified as safe, that fights food waste with food waste.
They’re blending leftover stems, uneaten orange peels, leaves and grape skins into an invisible, edible powder that, when dusted on produce, decelerates rot by keeping moisture in and air out.
That product is called Edipeel, and it’s about as lightweight as sugar and can be applied by farmers, grocers, as well as in the home. It’s so precise, in fact, that consumers can buy a bunch of bananas and apply just enough Edipeel to each to ensure they achieve peak ripeness on targeted days.
They’re also making something called Invisipeel, which is used pre-harvest and keeps bugs and fungus off of produce while allowing for a longer growth cycle, making food more nutritious.
Remember: not all technology is coming to take your job and destroy everything that is sacred.
Just most of it.
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