A Japanese company are selling special peaches... freshly harvested from the nuclear zone in Fukushima. Yummy.
Ever had a peach? You probably have. Ever felt like something was missing? That special something? Well, yeah. Now you can either go the "Call me by your name" route, or you can spend an enormous amount of money on peaches with a nuclear touch, straight from Fukushima.
Nuclear Peaches? Yes, Please!
Yes, a fantastic idea. At least that is what the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) must have thought. In case you somehow lived behind the moon or were a baby (or both) in the early 2010s, here's a quick catch-up: On March 11, 2011, an earthquake caused a tsunami that destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This caused a meltdown that released nuclear material that contaminated the air, water, and land in the area. Since then, Fukushima has been closed to the public.
Before the disaster, Fukushima was known as "The Kingdom of Fruit," with bountiful harvests of berries, pears, apples, and, well, peaches. Tepco, the company that is also in charge of the area's cleanup, is now back in the peach-growing business.
But that's not even the crazy part of the story. Tepco is selling these peaches to the British luxury department store Harrods. There, you can buy a box of the special peaches for an astounding £80 ($100) per box - that's about $35 per fruit! While this all sounds pretty crazy to me, the thought behind it is actually quite nice.
Overpriced Fruit for a Good Cause
Tepco's sales campaign is designed to convince shoppers to overcome any fears of radioactive contamination that may come with food produced in the area. These peaches were allowed to enter the UK because restrictions on food imported from Fukushima were lifted, allowing small amounts of food from the region to make it to the UK. All of this is part of Tepco's efforts to clean up the nuclear disaster, which has displaced about 164,000 residents and 50,000 households.
So, if you don't know what to spend your money on, regular peaches were never good enough for you, or you're looking for a nice little gift for your mother-in-law, buy these peaches and do something for a good cause! Oh, and please email me about how they tasted.