That's sort of what I was thinking. I would imagine a huge amount of ugly carrots for example end up chopped up and in cans or frozen bags or mass produced food products. Who knows what the vegetables in a Swanson pot pie looked like when they were in a field somewhere.

Salon is a pretty awful magazine. The bias/inaccuracy's is pretty full on.

It would be interesting to see if processed foods companies using off cuts contributes to fast food often being cheaper than if you made it yourself.

"Given how much processed food" you (in your country might) eat. Don't generalize like that. It's not because you don't see the problem with your own eyes that it doesn't exist.