Then the price of all that produce would go up as so much more would go to landfill and pig-feeding. We already have small, malformed or discoloured produce, that may be quite sound and nutritious, being wasted. Give people a date stamp and only the newest as well as the good looking would sell.
Many of us would love to have genuinely fresh produce available from the supermarket all year round but I see no prospect of getting it at the current prices.
Evidence? Consumer survey reference accepted. 
Or would the supply chain change and a majority of consumers modify their purchasing preference to buy what is in season? I’ve always been told consumers ultimately favour cheap over expensive. In which instance would there always be a market for the older/stored product?
Just a thought for the New Year.
I have no study to quote just my observations of human behaviour. Where there are dates (as on prepack veges like bean shoots) people rat through the shelves and grab the freshest pack even if at the back.
A few will but most want what they want right now. If it’s mid winter they still want fresh tomatoes.
There is already a scheme going to sell badly shaped veges slightly cheaper instead of sending them to compost, it doesn’t seem to be taking the markets by storm. Many people do not know what they are looking for in fresh produce. If you give them a date they cannot misinterpret that so they will only buy the newest.
Is there anywhere in the world that picking dates are available for produce? I can’t find any examples.
Supermarket produce still goes off too quickly.
Produce I get directly from the farmer lasts a long time.
There are broadly three main streams of commercial supply of fresh produce excluding backyard growers.
“Farmers’ Markets” and the retailers there often suggest that their supply comes from (3) or backyard growers, or their own land. Sometimes this is true. I have seen plenty of evidence that much of their product comes from (1). That is the produce arrives on the back of a truck filled with cartons with the grower’s name and details as you will see if you go to a big wholesale market. Your typical market of that type may have gluts in a warm summer where every tomato bush is producing fresh. It will likely also have tomatoes in mid winter that come from distant subtropical places or hothouses.
Which is the best? That is hard to say. Some supermarket stock is horrid and clearly past its useful date but some is fine. Some small growers have the facilities and expertise to handle and store stock well and some do not. Some “farm fresh” stock is just that - some is not.
If we do away with the supermarket system that might result in fresher more seasonal produce but not necessarily. And what do you put in its place and how do you know it will be better, and will you cope with the reduced range and availability?
I don’t see how that there is a one-size-fits all solution to getting fresh produce and I don’t see there is any solution that will maintain genuinely fresh supply at anything like the price we pay now. So perhaps it is time to stop bagging supermarkets quite so much for feeding nations cheaply.
I buy organic directly from the grower. I know the grower.
It makes a huge difference knowing farmers/growers. An assuming what they grow is in season (in the paddock), you can’t get much fresher than that (possibly only from one’s own vege patch).
Absolutely.
But if you rely on that you will be very limited in the range of produce that you can have through the year.
Where I live, if I did that, from about May to August the only fresh veges I would get are brassicas and leaves. Cabbage, cauli, broccoli, lettuce, rocket etc that grow over winter. Oh and possibly peas and broad beans towards the end.
I might want something and ask the farmer if he will be growing it. He replies either will be ready in a few weeks or not started on it yet.
I want Rock melon and was told that it has to be hot. For some produce I am told it’s been raining to much. etc etc
Waiting for a text from him that they are ready to start delivering. I can place an order and it will be delivered.
He will be back at the markets in February and I have to eat 
Not limited at all. Everything is grown locally.
There is no need to eat out of season. I don’t need Cherries nor strawberries in the winter.
I cannot think of any district that would not restrict the range of fresh produce quite substantially, either in the time of year you can have it or whether you can have it at all. Some are more flexible than others.
As you say yourself your grower cannot grow some things that depend on seasonal conditions are other things only appear for a few weeks or months. So there are two limitations to start with.
The idea is to eat local. grown within 100 km from Sydney .
You get all the nutrients you need eating season produce. That’s when it’s the best
How would you go within 100km of Winnipeg, Fairbanks or Invercargill NZ?
I love the idea but it won’t work for most of humanity either because the food is not available or just too limited.
It works in Sydney
We had a huge apricot tree when I was a kid. Mum had a Fowler’s Vacola kit and we had apricots all year round. I think the neighbours did the same with those we shared with them, and we did likewise with their shared peaches. We also had plums and crabapple
I need to post about fresh bananas. The ones I received from my 2-weeks-ago Woolies online shop were bright green. They are still not ripe. I think thats taking “eat later” or “i prefer my bananas to be a bit green”, a little too far.
There is a healthier side. Less sugar.
Apparently any recipes that use plantains are also useful.
Because they are not edible? The skins are still not ready to open.
Not my experience in PNG, India and ….
For green bananas per the link,
“Green banana is boiled and served as a high fiber, low-calorie side dish in many Jamaican and Caribbean homes. It is a great substitute for potatoes in the diet.”
Another option just by way of example on what to do with your green bananas.
There are many options for how to use them. Especially useful if you grow your own and the bunches do as always ripening faster than you can eat them. They are not the only fruit/nuts used unripened. Includes paw paw, mango and coconuts.
I guess you need to like bananas cooked in some way or other. i do not. i like them raw straight from the skin of chopped up in a fruit salad or squashed onto bread fo a sandwich. Anyway… whether or not one likes green bananas or not, here I am over 2 weeks later and they are still not edible (for my tastes) grumble
