Do you consume sufficient veggies?
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, you find yourself in the minority if you belong to this group.
According to the bureau's National Health Survey, it states Only 6.5 percent of Australians are consuming their daily recommendation of five servings per day. , with most eating fewer than two serves and ultra-processed foods taking up more of our diets.
Dietitian and nutritionist Jemma O'Hanlon is worried that our busy lifestyles are contributing to preventable diseases, mostly due to what we are eating."Many of us are choosing too many unhealthy foods in our daily diets and it's really not the individual's fault," she said.
We encounter unhealthful meals everywhere we go, be it at the grocery store, service stations, corner shops, and even within school cafeterias, which often contain many such items.
Excess weight and obesity, along with heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and numerous types of cancer, are associated with unhealthy eating habits, making this an extremely critical issue.
Poor dietary practices impacting farmers
The decline in vegetable consumption has an impact on those involved in growing them as well, particularly since many are already struggling because of poor economic circumstances and various challenges from within their sector.
A recent study by peak horticulture industry body AusVeg found that more than a third of growers were considering leaving the industry in the next 12 months , citing cost increases for fuel, electricity, labour costs and fertiliser, poor retail pricing, and regulatory burdens.
Catherine Velisha, a third-generation vegetable grower in Werribee, on the western outskirts of Melbourne, said although the situation was grim, improved vegetable consumption would help her industry.
"If consumption doesn't increase, and it's falling, we're all looking at our businesses saying we're growing produce that people don't really want and with costs of inputs going up, where do we sit in this market?" she said.
"And what's really sad is that we're talking about a food that is a necessity for human health but people are avoiding it and buying things that are really toxic for them."
Ms Velisha said consumer behaviour had changed.
"That's obviously filtered down dramatically to us as producers," she said.
"But the biggest issue is our costs of inputs have gone up dramatically, much more than my grandfather used to pay and those costs of the products we are selling haven't moved at the same rate, so that discrepancy is putting a lot of pressure on our businesses."
Staying healthy more affordable
But it's not just farmers' bottom lines being affected by Australia's eating less vegetables — Ms O'Hanlon said the economy was also suffering from the side effects.
"The total healthcare spend on risk factors that are potentially avoidable is actually $24 billion," she said.
"This sort of money could actually be invested [by governments] in putting towards programs and campaigns that promote our health and wellbeing."
So why aren't we eating enough vegetables?
Ms O'Hanlon stated that apart from their hectic lifestyles, people also believe that maintaining a healthy diet comes with a high cost.
"The good news is that veggies are not expensive. They are, in fact, very affordable and I think this a bit of a myth and misconception out there," she said.
"In fact, fresh veggies on average are about 65 cents a serve."
Multiple studies have found that on average, a supermarket shop of foods that meet Australia's dietary guidelines was 7 per cent cheape r than what's in the average person's basket.
Healthy diet, healthy economy
Ms O'Hanlon said one of the most affective ways to help the waistline and the wallet, was to embrace whole foods and eat more vegetables.
"People are looking for cheaper options to make sure they can live and cover all of their expenses," she said.
"The healthiest and the most affordable diet is the Mediterranean diet — it beats the Western diet that a lot of us are eating at the moment.
"Vegetables are rich in fibre, which nourishes our gut — in essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which protect us and boost our health and wellbeing."
The Mediterranean diet includes eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, fish and seafood, and minimal processed foods and red meat.
Ms Velisha said there were market opportunities with 94 per cent of the population not eating enough vegetables.
She mentioned that the niche in the market could be enhanced with increased investment from both the horticulture industry and the government into campaigns advocating for healthier diets.
"What we require is for individuals to consume just one additional serving, which could transform both our well-being and our sector," Ms Velisha stated.
What strategies can we use to reignite enthusiasm for vegetables among people? How can we attract them—not only by highlighting health benefits but also by emphasizing pleasure.
We’re becoming unwell, and this is due to our inadequate diet, with farmers urging the government to promote behavioral changes.