There is significant potential to grow sales and consumption of vegetables through better supply chain collaboration, savvy marketing and clear health claims.
Those were among the key conclusions from Barbara Bray’s Nuffield Farming Scholarship, which examined the topic of ‘Vegetable production for specific nutritional need’. Bray travelled to locations as diverse as the US, Ireland, Germany, South Korea and New Zealand in researching her report, which makes a number of key suggestions and recommendations for boosting the nation’s health.
Bray’s conclusions highlight the fact that public health nutrition messages have not been effective in improving consumption of fruit and vegetables over the past 20 years, and that a new approach is needed.
Examining the link between nutrition and vegetables, Bray highlighted the fact that vegetables are a key part of the solution to improve low fibre intake, as well as supporting those with heavily plant-based diets to achieve adequate levels of vitamin D2, beta-carotene, iron and folate.
She observed that although the level of micronutrients in crops has not reduced over time, changes in plant breeding for increased yield have resulted in a fall in micronutrients, albeit not at a significant level for human health. She therefore advocates better developed nutrition-smart agriculture to improve crop nutritional quality for human health and to enhance commercial viability for the agri-food industry.
The report suggests that the combination of branding and an easy-to-understand health message would help promote the consumption of vegetables. Five crops were highlighted for their potential for exploiting existing health and nutrition claims – broccoli (chromium for maintenance of blood glucose), beetroot (betaine and immunity), watercress (immunity and bone health), potatoes (potassium) and mushrooms (vitamin D).
There is also an angle with labelling foods with high potassium content to help people with chronic kidney disease, adding that an effort to analyse potassium levels in crops would be valuable so that information can be used to help processors.
“The use of health claims is only one of the tools available to encourage increased consumption of vegetables,” Bray continued. “Engaging with the plant-based foods community and showcasing vegetable products rich in nutrients and delivered more conveniently e.g. food-to-go options, may be key to persuading more consumers to increase their intake of vegetables for health and wellbeing.”
Such an approach hints at collaboration, and Bray says multi-disciplinary collaboration from seed breeders to consumers is crucial to changing the current food system and driving changes in menus for institutions who want to focus on health.
Retailers can help too, by positioning vegetables for convenience in store and improving their standing in the food-to-go category. As consumers are prioritising health and convenience, health claims about nutritional benefits can make a good product more attractive, as has been proven with lines such as beetroot juice.
Barbara Bray’s full report into ‘Vegetable production for specific nutritional need’ can be viewed here.
