New Zealand’s 5+ A Day Charitable Trust has joined the
global call for a World Fruit and Vegetable Day, to be
celebrated this Friday 14thOctober. The day aims to
officially recognise the initiative to raise awareness of
the vital role fruit and vegetables play in the lives of
every person on the planet.
The proposal builds on the
momentum created during last year’s International Year of
Fruit and Vegetables, a United Nations global event that
brought together experts from around the world, including
many from Aotearoa, to discuss the ways in which the
production and consumption of fresh produce could be
improved to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development
Goals.
5+ A Day Trustee and Principal Scientist and
Team Leader at Plant & Food Research, Dr Carolyn Lister
says the mooted annual day of recognition of the importance
of fruit and vegetables comes at a critical time for world
health.
“While we’re learning to live with the
ramifications of a global pandemic and the increasing signs
of climate change, communities everywhere need to
re-evaluate the ways in which we nourish our people,” she
says.
“The theme of the 2022 World Food Day is
‘leave no one behind’, this speaks to issues such as
food security and, even though Aotearoa is perceived as a
wealthy nation, we’re leaving part of our population
behind every day when there are Kiwis going without their 5+
A Day,” she says.
“Sustainability initiatives
imbedded in a World Fruit and Vegetable Day will spark the
kind of innovations and public events that create awareness
and provide solutions to issues such as food security,
indigenous crops and food waste reduction,” says Dr
Lister.
“Fresh produce statistics provided by 18
countries around the globe in 2020 showed that the citizens
of Chile and Italy were the only two nations that ate the
recommended five or more servings of fruit and vegetables
every day for optimal health,” she says.
“While
organisations and initiatives such as the 5+ A Day
Charitable Trust and Fruit and Vegetables in Schools
actively work to increase consumption across all age groups
and demographics, we know that the critical health benefits
of good nutrition begin from an early age,” says Dr
Lister.
“Our hope is that international leaders
embrace the proposal to formally acknowledge our vital
horticulture industry from seed to table. We want World
Fruit and Vegetable Day to be an important part of the
calendar every year and we want to ensure every Kiwi has
access to their 5+ A Day for all 365 days of that year,’
says Dr
Lister.
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