Fruit and Veg Myth

Fruit and Veg Myth. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

You have all heard the axiom that it is more expensive to eat healthy. Some think it’s an excuse for the obesity epidemic but Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says it’s a myth.

VILSACK: Here’s why people think that is not the case..because in the past what we did was we priced food based on calories. And so it goes something like this: You’d ask how much does a hundred calories of potato chips cos, how much does a hundred calories of broccoli cost and you would compare those to each other. Our study suggested a better way to evaluate the relative value of fruits and vegetable versus other foods and that’s based on weight or portion size. If you take a pound of broccoli and a pound of potato chips, you’re going to find that a pound of broccoli is less expensive. If you take a portion size of potato chips and compare it to a portion size of broccoli broccoli is going to be less expensive.

Vilsack was speaking outside a local grocery store in Sioux Falls, SD where he unveiled a new USDA program aimed at raising a healthier generation of Americans.

VILSACK: We’re issuing this report that’s designed to debunk the myth that kids just won’t choose fruits and vegetables. As a result of our study 97% of the youngsters in those schools actually tried fruits. 84% tried vegetables. Of those youngsters who tried fruits and vegetables 86% of those that tried fruit ate all of the fruit and didn’t leave a lot on the plate.

He says the study supports the notion that if given the choice kids will make the right choice.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.