pick 1 kiwi, receive 10

first time seeing a kiwi farm

in this week’s newsletter: first time seeing how kiwis are grown, helping the kindest kiwi farmers, reflecting on the standards of food, and feeling the kindness of the locals

dear penpals -

here’s a no judgement, ‘no worries if you don’t know the answer’, question… do you know how kiwis grow?

if you asked me that question a week ago, i wouldn’t be able to tell you definitively if they grew on a tree, in a bush, or on a vine. most likely i would have just laughed at my inability to answer a simple question and make a joke claiming kiwis naturally appeared in the produce section of the grocery store… because i honestly never once thought about it.

so when the opportunity came to visit a kiwi farm to help kiwi farmers, who also are THE sweetest おじいちゃん [o·ji·i·cha·n] (meaning grandpa) and おばあちゃん [o·ba·a·cha·n] (meaning grandma), i jumped at the chance to lend a hand and try something new!

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i ended up doing two days of kiwi picking, and although you might not be able to see it clearly in the video, it was back breaking work.

kiwis are grown on woody vines (there’s your answer!) that hang at an awkward height that is not high up in a tree, but also not low to the ground, so you’re left either doing an awkward squat or a back bend and twisting upward to pick the kiwis. all while awkward crab-walking to the next vine and being careful to not hit your head against any low branches (which definitely happened to me)!

click on the image or the link to the video here.

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one thing i’ve been reflecting on while picking kiwis is the standard by which we, both as individuals and as a society, value food aesthetics. as seen in the video, it’s actually not enough to just pick the kiwis from the vine, but you have to go through the process to further sort them into three different categories:

1. good kiwis = can be distributed and sold to other companies

2. tiny kiwis = not sellable

3. funny shaped kiwis = not sellable

one thing that i’ve always known growing up and visiting japan often, but didn’t really realize the depth and harm until now, is the standard by which japan judges food as “good” or “bad”. if you look through any grocery store, although the perfection of each produce item looks beautiful, it also reveals a lot about the hidden waste that happens because of this high standard.

but who set the standard of what can or cannot be sellable? what can and cannot be consumed? tiny kiwis are a fun addition to salads or desserts, and funny shaped kiwis are still perfectly edible and tasty, just with a few more bumps along the way (but when you really think about it, you actually get more kiwi value with funny shaped ones!)

it was a sad thing to realize how many kiwis didn’t make the “good kiwi” cut and really felt that this is something that not only japan’s mindset and mentality that has to change, but also myself. maybe the next time i go grocery shopping, i’ll accept the funny-shaped foods that managed to sneak its way onto the shelves or look at options to save the ones that would be discarded because no one else wants them.

because at the end of the day, for the protection of the trees, vines, and bushes that grow the food we eat, it’s important for farmers to cleanly remove everything that grew in this season. that way the plant has time to rest and heal before re-producing the food again next year. so if we’re going to have to do the back-breaking work for all the kiwis, why not make it so that our hard work doesn’t go to waste, and instead goes to your bellies?

thankful for farmers who understand this problem and don’t participate in further food waste, simply because companies refuse to purchase the funny shaped ones, and instead keep it for themselves to consume and enjoy after a long day of work.

forever in deep gratitude for the farmers in the world, especially for the way they invite me into this space to feel all the pains and joys of farming and to see food in a very different light. and a special thank you to the obaachan who refused to let me go home without receiving the same amount of kiwis that i had picked from her farm.

i will truly never go hungry living in the inaka!

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