My first thought when I heard this was "jeez, the farmers just can't get a break". However Coles have been quick to say that lower prices will increase demand which will provide more certainty for farmers. Whether this actually happens remains to be seen. You can read the full media release from Coles here.
My second thought when hearing this was hmmm. Maybe there is some good here. Research shows only half of Australians eat the daily recommended allowance of fruit and veg, with many people saying they can't afford to buy fresh f&v as it's too expensive (personally I dispute this, but that's a conversation for another day!). What I'm wondering is this: now that fresh fruit and veg are cheaper, will people eat more? Especially those who have previously said it was too expensive?
There is much research that says eating 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day provides significant health benefits, particularly in terms of long term disease prevention including the prevention of many types of cancer, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, cataracts and macular degeneration of the eye and type 2 diabetes. Not to mention the short term benefits. I don't know about you, but when I have a meal that contains lots of veggies, I feel a lot better after than I do after a meal of takeaway!
While Coles and Woolies fight it out, I'll continue to support my local farmers and my fabulous local fruit and veg shop (that is next door to Woolies and over the road from Coles) by stocking up at our local farmers markets and supporting small business owners in my community.
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| Some of my favourite fruit and veg |
Do you think lowering the price of fruit and veg will entice more people to eat it? Or do you think there are bigger challenges involved?
