Oakland-Based Imperfect Will Sell Only "Ugly" Fruits And Vegetables
奥克兰的Imperfect公司专卖“丑”蔬果
Experts estimate that six billion pounds or about twenty percent of all produce grown in the US ends up either in landfill or as animal feed, annually. Now Ben Chesler, Ben Simon and Ron Clark want to change that with their aptly named startup "Imperfect." The Oakland-based company plans to purchase the"cosmetically challenged produce" from farmers and sell it either through a supermarket chain they recently signed a deal with or by delivering it directly to Consumers.
据专家估计，在美国每年就有约六十亿磅（或近20%）的农产品因为长得“丑”而被用于动物饲料，甚至被白白丢掉。现在，Ben Chesler, Ben Simon和Ron Clark打算通过他们巧妙命名的Imperfect公司来改变这个情况。该公司计划向农场主收购那些长得“丑”的蔬菜瓜果，并于今年7月开始通过当地超市进行销售或者直接送递到用户家中。
Chesler and Simon believe that once consumers realize that "ugly" fruits and vegetables taste as good as the "beautiful" produce supermarkets display, they will embrace the cause. The company who is working with farmers in California, plans to start selling the produce to the residents of Oakland and Berkeley by July 2015. If all goes well, Imperfect will extend the service to other California cities and then hopefully, to other states as well.
Chesler和Simon相信，顾客如果能意识到蔬果的美丑跟口感并无关系，就会开始接受卖相不好的蔬果。该公司与加利福尼亚的农场主合作，打算2015年7月起向奥克兰和伯克利地区的居民销售这样的农产品。如果进展顺利，Imperfect公司将把生意拓展到加利福尼亚其他城市，甚至其他州。
In addition to preventing waste, Imperfect's idea will also result in additional income for farmers who are sometimes forced to trash as much as 50% of their harvest just because it doesn't look "right." Consumers that eat the produce will benefit too. That's because the entrepreneurs estimate it will cost as much as 30-50% less than grocery store produce.
除了防止浪费，Imperfect公司的理念还包括帮助那些因为果蔬卖相不好而被迫丢掉近农产品的农民增加收入。购买这些“丑”蔬果的顾客也将受益，因为这些果蔬的售价比一般果蔬商店要便宜30%-50%左右呢。
And if that's not enough to convince you that "ugly" produce may be worth a try, how about this? It will help the environment too! That's because rotting produce releases harmful methane into the atmosphere. Additionally, for drought-ridden California the business could not have come at a better time. Each pound of food that gets sold prevents the 25-50 gallons of water it takes to grow a pound of produce from being wasted! The one benefit the entrepreneurs have not factored in is that kids may consume more fruits and vegetables if look "different" than the boring ones they encounter today!
如果上述还不能打动你购买“丑”蔬果，那下面这些呢？您的支持还将有利环保——因为丢弃的农产品腐烂后会产生对环境有害的沼气。除此之外，这对于经常遭受旱灾的加利福尼亚来的正是时候。每卖出一磅这样的蔬果，就减少了生长丢弃生长一磅蔬果所需要的25-50加仑的水资源的浪费。还有一点创业者没考虑到，就是比起普通的蔬果，现在孩子们会更愿意吃长相奇特的蔬果呢！
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