The comeback of the bent cucumber

Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food movement in Italy, comments on the reform of the EU's fruit and vegetable directive in the left-liberal daily La Repubblica. In his opinion the repeal of aesthetic standards for such products is not enough as a proof of quality: "A mini cultural revolution that apparently favours small farmers who offer products they grow themselves without using sprays and with small cosmetic flaws. The syllogism doesn't work the other way round though. … Just because a product is unappealing and ugly doesn't mean it's good and healthy. … Consumers still have two criteria [by which they can judge the quality of a product]. The first is the certificate of origin. … The second consists in the markets of the farmers themselves, which are not just full of good but also aesthetically pleasing things."

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