DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2016
144TH YEAR, NO. 48
THE
‘UGLY’
ALTERNATIVE
Farmers, grocers create
market for damaged produce
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
W
ENATCHEE, Wash. — Some-
times, farming can get ugly.
When hail damages tree
fruit and fi eld crops, or when
produce just doesn’t meet the high visual
standards of grocers, it often goes into
secondary channels or is rejected.
For example, weather-damaged
apples are normally made into juice, and
the unlucky growers receive only a frac-
tion of their usual value.
But as this season’s harvest contin-
ues, Columbia Marketing International
has come up with a more lucrative option
for the hail-nicked fruit from two of its
orchards. CMI aims to capital-
ize on a growing food trend,
marketing discounted, super-
fi cially blemished fruit
through fresh channels as
“ugly” produce, providing
environmentally conscious
consumers a means of taking
action against food waste.
“It’s a nice way for us to potentially
help growers who for whatever reason —
hailstorm, windstorm or whatever — are
facing a catastrophic loss,” Steve Lutz,
CMI vice president of marketing, said.
“It’s a fabulous alternative.”
CMI — the marketing arm of four
packing sheds in Wenatchee, Quincy and
Yakima — launched its I’m Perfect brand
of apples — a play on the word “imper-
fect” — earlier this year, featuring fruit
that isn’t aesthetically pleasing but still
has acceptable quality to eat.
Gaining momentum
The ugly produce movement has
gained momentum nationwide for sev-
eral commodities, aligning the interests
of farmers, who would like fresh market
options for more of their production, and
food activists, who want to reduce food
waste in an effort to feed more people.
Facing mounting consumer pres-
sure, the world’s largest grocer, Benton-
ville, Arkansas -based Wal mart, recently
agreed to offer I’m Perfect fruit at 300
of its Florida stores as part of a corporate
ugly produce pilot program.
ONE DOLLAR
Miss
Oregon
ready for
big stage
Astoria’s Mather
in Atlantic City
for Miss America
By ELI STILLMAN
The Daily Astorian
Answering calls, emails and text mes-
sages are a normal part of the day for most
21-year-olds, but for
Miss Oregon Alexis
Mather, it is an around
the clock job.
Between fans con-
gratulating her and
Nike shoe design-
ers setting appoint-
ments, it’s not unusual
for Mather to have to
respond to 30 texts . A
majority of those con-
Alexis
versations are also
Mather
from her team of fi ve
managers, which includes a media manager
and a booking agent. On top of the calls and
texts, she’s expected to post to her fi ve differ-
ent social media platforms daily.
See MISS OREGON, Page 10A
Steve Lutz,
vice pres-
ident of
marketing
at Columbia
Marketing
International,
Wenatchee,
Wash.,
helped
Wal mart de-
velop a way
to sell weath-
er-damaged
apples.
Dan Wheat
Capital Press
U.S. estimated food loss, 2010
(Millions of tons)
Tree nuts, peanuts: 0.25 or 0.4%
More than 30 percent of the U.S. food
supply in 2010, worth $161.6 billion, was
not available for human consumption.
Eggs: 1.4 or 2.1%
Added fats/oils:
4.95 or 7.5%
Meat, fish and
poultry: 7.65 or
11.5%
Added sugar/
sweeteners:
8.35 or 12.6%
Total
food loss*:
66.45 or 31%
Dairy
products:
12.7 or
19.1%
Vegetables:
12.6 or 19%
Fruit: Grain
9.2 or products:
13.8% 9.25 or
13.9%
Total food
supply † : 215
million tons
*Includes retail and consumer loss. † Retail- and
consumer-level loss data is loss-adjusted based on
a U.S. population of 309.8 million as of July 1, 2010.
NOTE: Totals may not equal 100 due to rounding.
Source: USDA ERS
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
See UGLY FOOD, Page 10A
Ministry
puts the
focus on
children
R3 Fashion Show gives
new life by recycling
By KATHERINE LACAZE
For The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — Bathed in bright runway
lights, volunteer models young and old
sported used coats, blouses, aprons and other
attire that were no worse for the wear after
being lovingly refurbished by members of
Our Lady of Victory and St. Peter the Fisher-
man’s w omen’s m inistry.
The group held its third R3 Fashion
Show, Auction and Sweet Treats at the Sea-
side Civic and Convention Center in August .
The fundraising event, which started in 2013
and is becoming an annual tradition for the
w omen’s m inistry, showcases the value and
appeal of recycling old products and giving
them new life.
“We’re such a throw-away society,”
event organizer Jan Lambert said. “If we
could recycle and reuse things, maybe some-
one could re-love them.”
That concept is behind the event’s name
— R3 — which represents the central
See MINISTRY, Page 10A
Vandals destroy popular ‘Duckbill’ rock formation
Cape Kiwanda
feature toppled
INSTAGRAM
VIDEO
By MARTHA BELLISLE
Associated Press
http://bit.ly/2bVk5om
Cellphone video captured a
group of people knocking over
a popular sandstone rock for-
mation known as the “Duck-
bill” on an Oregon beach.
Oregon State Parks offi -
cials originally said they didn’t
think the break at the site fre-
quented by tourists was caused
by humans.
But the video shot by David
Kalas of Portland shows a
group of visitors pushing the
structure until it crumbled to
the ground on Aug . 29 at Cape
Kiwanda State Natural Area.
The sandstone pedestal was
roughly 7 feet to 10 feet across
and located in a fenced off sec-
tion of the park.
Kalas told The Associ-
ated Press on Monday that he
was with some friends mak-
ing a drone video of their sum-
mer adventures on the Oregon
coast when they went to the
rock formation.
When they got the drone in
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
This natural rock formation was found in pieces last week
at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area in Pacific City.
the air, a group of eight peo-
ple “came out of nowhere” and
started pushing on the rock.
Kalas says he started record-
ing with his cellphone when it
began wobbling.
“I didn’t think anything
would happen,” Kalas said.
“It’s a big rock.”
Five of the people stepped
away, but when three others
saw there was a crack, they
pushed it over, Kalas said.
“We confronted them and
they said it was a safety haz-
ard,” Kalas said. “They said
one of their friends had broken
a leg on it. It’s like their weird
revenge thing.”
The Oregon State Parks
and Recreation Department
said Monday it will review the
incident and takes vandalism
seriously.
A similar episode in Utah
caused an online uproar. Two
Boy Scout leaders were sen-
tenced to probation after
recording themselves top-
pling an ancient rock for-
mation at Goblin Valley
State Park and posting it on
YouTube.