Britain does not produce or import enough fruit and vegetables for the population to meet the government’s recommended five-a-day (400g) intake, new research has shown.
According to the newly published analysis by the Sustainable and Health Food Systems (SHEFS) research group, which includes The Food Foundation, Britain needs to produce or import 9% more fruit and veg for everyone in the UK to be able to eat the recommended amount.
At the moment, the research added, only one in ten children and a third of adults are eating enough fruit and veg.
Importance of fruit and veg
According to earlier SHEFS reports, if everyone in the UK ate the recommended amount/day, healthy life expectancy would increase by an average of eight months and diet-related greenhouse gas emissions would reduce by more than 8%.
The briefing suggests that the high costs of fruit and veg has created a ‘health gap’ between the rich and poor. In the year to October 2022 it said, the price of fruit rose by more that 10% and the price of vegetables by more than 15%.
However, it added that even before the cost-of-living crisis, consumption of fruit and vegetables showed strong, wealth-related differences – with the highest income groups consuming about 1.5 portions/day more than the lowest.
The SHEFS researchers say there are four key priorities for policy makers to tackle this problem.
These are: Supporting increased fruit and veg consumption; protecting low-income consumers; boosting domestic supply; and making better use of government departments to work towards to benefits of an adequate fruit and veg supply.
“As the government takes forward the development of the Horticulture Strategy for England – which is now long overdue – we show it must aim to increase both production and consumption of British fruit and veg,” said Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation.
“This will make a significant difference to the nation’s health and help our farmers. It’s a win-win.”
“SHEFS research is about identifying food system changes that would be beneficial for both people’s health and the environment. Increasing production and consumption of fruit and veg is vital to achieving these goals, and should be prioritised now,” added Professor Rosemary Green, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, co-PI of SHEFS.
