Are you the 1 in 20?

Not only is vegetable intake proven to increase wellbeing, it also stands to benefit farmers. If Australia’s adults added just one more serve of veggies to their day it would add a whopping $3.3 billion dollars to the vegetable growing industry, 85% of which would go directly to farmers. This one extra serve, or ½ a cup per day, would equate to farmers growing an extra 700,000 tonnes of vegetables across the country. 

Unfortunately, the latest research says adults are now consuming just 1.8 serves of veggies per person per day, which equates to just 135g, or ½ a cup. This inevitably means the intake of discretionary foods (those high in salt, fats and sugars) has significantly increased. (Research from Hort Innovation and Ausveg's plusoneserve.com.au)

Reversing the decline in veggie consumption is a key goal for in Australia’s National Preventative Health Strategy and the vegetable growing industry body, AusVeg, is onboard to help. Understanding why people are eating fewer vegetables comes down to a few key issues as explained by Fruit & Vegetable Consortium Managing Director Justine Coates at the recent Farm X Conference in Tasmania. Her interview with ABC Listen explains the key take-outs: 

• The barriers to eating more vegetables are different in different settings. We need to think about all the places we work, live, learn and play, and how to incorporate vegetable consumption into each of those settings. 

• Usually, vegetables are priced per kilo, which makes it difficult to know exactly what the item will cost at the check-out and what the price per serve is likely to be. Pricing per portion may be more attractive to shoppers.  

• Food culture within Australia has changed and people sitting down to the dinner table for a plate of meat-and-three-veggies is less common.  

• Ready-made, convenience meals are being eaten more often, and these tend to include fewer vegetables.  

• Teenagers tend to focus on issues such as fat content, carbohydrate and protein intake rather than eating a balanced meal. 

For lots of tasty vegetable inspiration, see these simple, delicious recipes from Riik Zwaan’s Veggies First website, available in multiple languages. Rijk Zwaan also offers a free-to-all online Culinary Nutrition Course, which explores the science of why diet is important to health - developed with the University of Newcastle.