When Fruit Was Never Meant to Be Perfect
On blemishes, ripeness, and why sweetness must be shared
In a living ecosystem, fruit is not a product.
It is a conversation.
Sweetness evolved to move through many bodies — not just ours.
A perfect fruit may impress a market.
A shared fruit sustains a world.
The Strange Obsession with Perfect Fruit
Walk into any supermarket and you will see:
- Apples with no scars
- Mangoes without a single bite mark
- Tomatoes identical in size
- Bananas curved in obedient symmetry
We have learned to associate cosmetic perfection with quality.
Smooth skin means safe.
Uniform color means healthy.
Shine means fresh.
But biologically speaking, this standard makes little sense.
A small scar often means the fruit survived wind, insects, sun, and rain.
A minor blemish rarely affects nutrition.
An insect bite does not erase sweetness.
Perfection is a market aesthetic.
It is not an ecological one.
Traditional food cultures judged fruit differently:
- By aroma
- By flavor
- By ripeness
- By how well it stored
Fruit Is a Reproductive Strategy, Not a Commodity
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| (Namwah banana bunch with fingers eaten by birds and bats) |
Fruit did not evolve for supermarkets.
It evolved for birds.
For bats.
For monkeys.
For insects.
When a fruit ripens, it:
- Becomes sweeter
- Softens
- Changes color
- Releases aroma
These are signals.
They are invitations.
“Come. Eat. Carry my seeds elsewhere.”
Sharing fruit is not generosity.
It is biological design.
Sweetness Was Never Meant to Be Monopolized
Fruit is seasonal energy released into a network.
When sweetness circulates, ecosystems stabilize.
When sweetness is monopolized, systems become brittle.
Perhaps abundance is leaving enough for the world that helped ripen it.
