When I first came to America as a brand-new immigrant, one of the things that amazed me was the abundance and perfection of produce in grocery stores. From sunshiny bananas to ruby red tomatoes, I saw flawless displays of Garden-of-Eden-variety produce. The other grocery store marvel was just how much people packed into their shopping carts. Through my immigrant lenses, it looked like everyone was preparing for a forecasted famine.

A few years and many grocery store trips later, I came to expect blemish-less, Instagram-worthy fruits and vegetables unblinkingly. I piled my cart with as much produce as everyone else. And, at the end of the week, I winced only slightly as I threw wilted kale and squishy oranges into the trash.

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