tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/fruit-and-vegetables-19261/articlesFruit and vegetables – The Conversation2023-12-28T20:38:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2145832023-12-28T20:38:13Z2023-12-28T20:38:13ZHate salad or veggies? Just keep eating them. Here’s how our tastebuds adapt to what we eat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557219/original/file-20231102-19-aen4k4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C11%2C3836%2C2850&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/vegetable-salad-on-white-ceramic-plate-xeTv9N2FjXA">Tania Melnyczuk/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you hate salad? It’s OK if you do, there are plenty of foods in the world, and lots of different ways to prepare them. </p>
<p>But given <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/australias-health-2018/contents/indicators-of-australias-health/fruit-vegetable-intake">almost all of us don’t eat enough vegetables</a>, even though <a href="https://hw.qld.gov.au/blog/aussies-need-to-be-empowered-to-eat-more-veggies-post-pandemic/">most of us (81%) know</a> eating more vegetables is a simple way to improve our health, you might want to try. </p>
<p>If this idea makes you miserable, fear not, with time and a little effort you can make friends with salad.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/feeling-bloated-hungry-or-bored-after-salad-these-tips-might-help-190843">Feeling bloated, hungry or bored after salad? These tips might help</a>
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<h2>Why don’t I like salads?</h2>
<p>It’s an unfortunate quirk of evolution that vegetables are so good for us but they aren’t all immediately tasty to all of us. We have evolved to enjoy the sweet or umami (savoury) taste of higher energy foods, because starvation is a more immediate risk than long-term health. </p>
<p>Vegetables aren’t particularly high energy but they are jam-packed with dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals, and health-promoting compounds called bioactives. </p>
<p>Those bioactives are part of the reason vegetables taste bitter. Plant bioactives, also called phytonutrients, are made by plants to protect themselves against environmental stress and predators. The very things that make plant foods bitter, are the things that make them good for us. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, bitter taste evolved to protect us from poisons, and possibly from over-eating one single plant food. So in a way, plant foods can taste like poison.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557227/original/file-20231102-17-orox62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young boy eating a carrot" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557227/original/file-20231102-17-orox62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557227/original/file-20231102-17-orox62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557227/original/file-20231102-17-orox62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557227/original/file-20231102-17-orox62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557227/original/file-20231102-17-orox62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557227/original/file-20231102-17-orox62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557227/original/file-20231102-17-orox62.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">For some of us vegetables are very bitter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>For some of us, this bitter sensing is particularly acute, and for others it isn’t so bad. This is partly due to our genes. Humans have at least <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25286017/">25 different receptors</a> that detect bitterness, and we each have our own genetic combinations. So some people really, really taste some bitter compounds while others can barely detect them.</p>
<p>This means we don’t all have the same starting point when it comes to interacting with salads and veggies. So be patient with yourself. But the steps toward learning to like salads and veggies are the same regardless of your starting point. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-told-to-eat-a-rainbow-of-fruit-and-vegetables-heres-what-each-colour-does-in-our-body-191337">We're told to 'eat a rainbow' of fruit and vegetables. Here's what each colour does in our body</a>
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<h2>It takes time</h2>
<p>We can train our tastes because our genes and our receptors aren’t the end of the story. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6186211/">Repeat exposures</a> to bitter foods can help us adapt over time. Repeat exposures help our brain learn that bitter vegetables aren’t posions. </p>
<p>And as we change what we eat, the enzymes and other proteins in our <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/654605">saliva change</a> too. This changes how different compounds in food are broken down and detected by our taste buds. How exactly this works isn’t clear, but it’s similar to other <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7394763/">behavioural cognitive training</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/food-as-medicine-why-do-we-need-to-eat-so-many-vegetables-and-what-does-a-serve-actually-look-like-76149">Food as medicine: why do we need to eat so many vegetables and what does a serve actually look like?</a>
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<h2>Add masking ingredients</h2>
<p>The good news is we can use lots of great strategies to mask the bitterness of vegetables, and this positively reinforces our taste training. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/kitchen-science-a-salt-on-the-senses-58633">Salt</a> and <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.5b03193">fat</a> can reduce the perception of bitterness, so adding seasoning and dressing can help make salads taste better instantly. You are probably thinking, “but don’t we need to reduce our salt and fat intake?” – yes, but you will get more nutritional bang-for-buck by reducing those in discretionary foods like cakes, biscuits, chips and desserts, not by trying to avoid them with your vegetables. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557223/original/file-20231102-17-200m3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Strawberry and leaf salad in a bowl" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557223/original/file-20231102-17-200m3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557223/original/file-20231102-17-200m3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557223/original/file-20231102-17-200m3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557223/original/file-20231102-17-200m3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557223/original/file-20231102-17-200m3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557223/original/file-20231102-17-200m3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557223/original/file-20231102-17-200m3h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1079&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Fruits can add sweetness and juiciness to salads.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/strawberry-salad-plate-xX9SmqQCbFY">dovile ramoskaite/unsplash</a></span>
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<p>Adding <a href="https://theconversation.com/hate-vegetables-you-might-have-super-taster-genes-74428">heat</a> with chillies or pepper can also help by acting as a decoy to the bitterness. Adding fruits to salads adds sweetness and juiciness, this can help improve the overall flavour and texture balance, increasing enjoyment. </p>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21515118/">Pairing foods</a> you are learning to like with foods you already like can also help. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_salads#:%7E:text=Salad%20is%20any%20of%20a,often%20include%20vegetables%20and%20fruits.">options for salads</a> are almost endless, if you don’t like the standard garden salad you were raised on, that’s OK, keep experimenting. </p>
<p>Experimenting with <a href="https://www.heartandstroke.ca/articles/but-i-dont-like-fruit-or-vegetables#:%7E:text=Pair%20with%20foods%20you%20already,kale%20or%20beet%20%E2%80%9Cchips.%E2%80%9D">texture</a> (for example chopping vegetables smaller or chunkier) can also help in finding your salad loves. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/frozen-canned-or-fermented-when-you-cant-shop-often-for-fresh-vegetables-what-are-the-best-alternatives-131678">Frozen, canned or fermented: when you can't shop often for fresh vegetables, what are the best alternatives?</a>
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<h2>Challenge your biases</h2>
<p>Challenging your biases can also help the salad situation. A phenomenon called the “unhealthy-tasty intuition” makes us assume tasty foods aren’t good for us, and that healthy foods will taste bad. Shaking that assumption off can help you enjoy your vegetables more. </p>
<p>When researchers labelled vegetables with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31577177/#:%7E:text=Taste%2Dfocused%20labels%20outperformed%20labels,compete%20with%20less%20healthy%20options.">taste-focused labels</a>, priming subjects for an enjoyable taste, they were more likely to enjoy them compared to when they were told how healthy they were. </p>
<h2>The bottom line</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408398.2019.1632258">Vegetables are good for us</a>, but we need to be patient and kind with ourselves when we start trying to eat more. </p>
<p>Try working <em>with</em> biology and brain, and not against them. </p>
<p>And hold back from judging yourself or other people if they don’t like the salads you do. We are all on a different point of our taste-training journey.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214583/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Beckett has received funding for research or consulting from Mars Foods, Nutrition Research Australia, NHMRC, ARC, AMP Foundation, Kellogg, and the University of Newcastle. She also works for FOODiQ Global. She is a member of committees/working groups related to nutrition or the Australian Academy of Science, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Nutrition Society of Australia.</span></em></p>You’re not alone if you find salads and vegetables bitter to taste. The good news is our taste buds adapt after time.Emma Beckett, Senior Lecturer (Food Science and Human Nutrition), School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2125722023-09-12T16:10:46Z2023-09-12T16:10:46ZPeople who grow their own fruit and veg waste less food and eat more healthily, says research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546630/original/file-20230906-27-autk1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C7%2C5121%2C3416&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Households that produced their own fruit and veg wasted 95% less than the average UK household.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-girl-pulling-onions-on-allotment-408646870">Air Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/global-cost-of-living-crisis">rising cost of living</a> is making it harder for people, especially those on lower incomes (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ndns-time-trend-and-income-analyses-for-years-1-to-9">who often have poorer diets</a>), to <a href="https://theconversation.com/further-food-price-rises-could-cause-up-to-1-million-additional-deaths-in-2023-199120">afford to eat healthily</a>. Despite this, households in the UK <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/resources/report/uk-household-food-waste-tracking-survey-2022-behaviours-attitudes-and-awareness?check_logged_in=1">continue to waste a shocking amount</a> of food – including around 68kg of fruit and vegetables each year.</p>
<p>Food waste is not only damaging to your pocket, it’s also bad for the environment too. Globally, <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/bb144e/bb144e.pdf">1.3 billion tonnes of food</a> are wasted every year, generating about 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions arise from unused food at all stages of the food supply chain, from production to decomposition.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.10413">our recent study</a> revealed that those who grow their own food in gardens and allotments waste an average of just 3.4kg of fruits and vegetables – 95% less than the UK average. These households adopted various practices to minimise food waste, including preserving or giving away their excess produce.</p>
<p>There has been <a href="https://gardenpals.com/gardening-statistics/">renewed interest</a> in growing fresh produce in gardens, community gardens and allotments in the UK and elsewhere in recent years. But the available supply of allotments is <a href="https://apse.org.uk/index.cfm/apse/members-area/briefings/2022/22-33-state-of-the-market-allotments/">not enough to meet increasing demand</a>.</p>
<p>Allocating more land for household fruit and vegetable production could make a significant contribution to the availability of fresh produce for urban residents.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">Research</a> has shown that using a mere 10% of the available space in the English city of Sheffield for food cultivation could supply enough fruit and vegetables to meet the needs of 15% of the city’s population. And more people growing their own food could also reduce waste.</p>
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<img alt="Vegetables rotting away in a landfill." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Food waste generates about 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/vegetables-thrown-into-landfill-rotting-outdoors-1624164451">Joaquin Corbalan P/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Food diaries</h2>
<p>Our study involved 197 households in the UK that grow their own food. We asked them to maintain a food diary, where they recorded the amounts of fruits and vegetables they acquired each week. We received complete records from 85 separate households.</p>
<p>They specified whether each item was cultivated in their garden or allotment, bought from shops or markets, sourced from other growers, or foraged in the wild. The households also recorded the quantity of the produce they gave away to family and friends, and the amounts they had to throw out.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest that individuals who grow their own food may be more inclined to avoid food wastage than the average person in the UK. This is possibly because they place a higher value on produce they had grown themselves.</p>
<p>The results align with <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/3/2695">earlier research</a> that was conducted in Germany and Italy. This study found that the amount of discarded food was greatest among people who shopped exclusively in large supermarkets. People who purchased items from various small stores tended to waste less food, while those that grew their own food wasted the least.</p>
<p>Our findings also suggest that the households we studied can produce roughly half of all the vegetables, and 20% of the fruit, they consume annually. These households consumed 70% more fruits and vegetables (slightly more than six portions per day) than the national average.</p>
<p>Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables as part of a balanced and nutritious diet is key to maintaining good health. This kind of diet can help prevent diseases such as <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m2194.full">type 2 diabetes</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5837313/">certain cancers and heart disease</a>.</p>
<p>Yet, in the UK, less than one-third of adults and only about 8% of teenagers <a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2018">eat their “five-a-day”</a>. This target, which is based on <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet">advice from the World Health Organization</a>, recommends eating at least five 80g portions of fruit and veg every day.</p>
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<img alt="Courgettes in a box offered for free from a home vegetable garden." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Grow-your-own households adopted various practices to minimise food waste.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/courgettes-box-offered-free-home-vegetable-2195032887">Alan Goodwin Photo/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Grow your own food security</h2>
<p>Growing your own food can improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables, promote good health and reduce food waste. However, several obstacles hinder involvement in household food production. These obstacles include limited access to the land, skills and time needed to grow your own fruit and veg. </p>
<p>Approximately one in eight UK households <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/articles/oneineightbritishhouseholdshasnogarden/2020-05-14">lacks access to a garden</a>. And, since the 1950s, the availability of allotments throughout the UK has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169204619315981">declined by 60%</a>. This decline has been particularly evident in more deprived areas of the country, where people could benefit most from better availability of nutritious foods.</p>
<p>We also found that those who grew their own food dedicated approximately four hours each week to working on their allotment or garden. Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of having the time to do so.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, raising awareness about the benefits of home food production, beyond just food security and reducing waste, to include its positive impacts on <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BFJ-07-2020-0593/full/html">social cohesion</a>, <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BFJ-07-2020-0593/full/html">overall wellbeing</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0769-y">biodiversity</a> could encourage more people to participate. Increasing demand for growing space may also encourage local authorities to allocate more land for this purpose.</p>
<p>Whether you grow your own food or not, everyone can adopt mindful practices when purchasing or growing food. Planning ahead and freezing or sharing excess food with others to prevent it from going to waste are good options. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-cut-down-on-food-waste-and-why-it-matters-171347">Five ways to cut down on food waste – and why it matters</a>
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<p>But some food waste is inevitable. Composting it instead of sending it to landfill will <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200224-how-cutting-your-food-waste-can-help-the-climate">substantially lower its impact</a> on the planet.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Boglarka Zilla Gulyas received funding from an EPSRC PhD scholarship. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jill Edmondson receives funding from NERC and EPSRC.</span></em></p>Those who grow their own food in gardens and allotments waste less and eat more healthily – but not everyone has the chance to do so.Boglarka Zilla Gulyas, Postdoctoral Research Associate in SCHARR, University of SheffieldJill Edmondson, Research Fellow in Environmental Change, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2061562023-09-06T15:47:34Z2023-09-06T15:47:34ZA slacker’s guide to climate-friendly gardening<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546454/original/file-20230905-25-qc53py.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=60%2C10%2C6720%2C4456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You can help wildlife in your garden thrive if you just stop doing several simple things.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-man-resting-comfortable-hammock-green-1533550202">New Africa/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A pristine garden can come with an environmental cost. The chemicals we use to kill weeds and bugs rely on fossil fuels, and can disrupt local wildlife. </p>
<p>But gardening doesn’t have to be a guilt-inducing chore. In fact, it can be a liberating act of eco-conscious laziness.</p>
<p>You won’t single-handedly solve all the world’s woes with your plot of land. But there are several simple things that, if you just stop doing them, will help the environment and wildlife. </p>
<p>So stop being so tidy. And say goodbye to herbicides and pesticides. </p>
<p>Becoming a lazier gardener can have many positive effects. It can contribute to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-46024-y">lowering your garden’s carbon footprint</a> and help to reduce the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02626667.2015.1128084">risk of flooding</a>.</p>
<p>But that’s not all. In a world where <a href="https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/biologies/item/CRBIOL_2020__343_3_267_0/">insects are in decline</a> due to global warming and changes in how land is used and managed, your less manicured garden can also <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-015-0342-x/">become a haven</a> for these essential creatures.</p>
<p>These same insects serve as vital sustenance for hungry <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723005314?via%3Dihub">birds</a>. A single <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/blue-tit/">blue tit</a> chick can alone eat <a href="https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/2017/06/know-blue-tit-chick-needs-around-100-caterpillars-every-day/#:%7E:text=forth%20with%20food.-,Did%20you%20know%20a%20blue%20tit%20chick%20needs%20around%20100,to%20keep%20their%20chicks%20happy">around 100 caterpillars</a> each day.</p>
<h2>Keep carbon in the ground</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-46024-y">Exposing soil</a> through digging causes the carbon that is stored in it to be released. It can also degrade the soil’s structure and make it less fertile. </p>
<p>If you’re mindful of the environmental cost of carbon escaping from your soils (in addition to all of the toil involved in digging, planting and weeding) then it may be worth planting perennial fruit and vegetables that live for many years, rather than plants that last one season and then die off. </p>
<p>There will always be some soil disturbance as you manage your beds – particularly when you first plant your crops. But the use of perennial crops can help to reduce this, with the added benefit of requiring less of your time.</p>
<p>Planting soft fruit bushes and strawberries means that, with a bit of effort, you can harvest fruit every year. And if you have plenty of room, you could also consider planting asparagus and using strawberries as a <a href="https://joybileefarm.com/how-to-grow-strawberries-asparagus/">companion crop</a> planted in between to help suppress weeds and keep your soil covered.</p>
<p>Fennel plants come back every year, too, and produce lovely flowers and edible seeds as long as you don’t harvest their bulbous stems. Globe artichoke plants are another option to liven up your summer meals. But remember to leave a few to bloom as this will provide pollen for bees and butterflies later in the year.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bees-and-hoverflies-are-key-to-growing-more-fruit-and-veg-in-cities-new-research-207665">Bees and hoverflies are key to growing more fruit and veg in cities -- new research</a>
</strong>
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<p>That said, annual plants do have their benefits, too. These plants add organic matter to the soil as they die off each year and should reseed to come again. But, if you have to constantly dig over the bed and replant from scratch, then this will have an environmental, energy and financial cost.</p>
<p>Keep it covered, stay lazy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A close-up shot of a fennel plant." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546458/original/file-20230905-24-27kq7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546458/original/file-20230905-24-27kq7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546458/original/file-20230905-24-27kq7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546458/original/file-20230905-24-27kq7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546458/original/file-20230905-24-27kq7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546458/original/file-20230905-24-27kq7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546458/original/file-20230905-24-27kq7i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fennel plants will come back every year as long as you don’t harvest their stems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/growing-fennel-garden-218475082">Maria Bobrova/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Become a wildlife haven</h2>
<p>Another excellent way to keep soil covered and add variety to your little patch is by planting a meadow – or rather an unruly lawn with the addition of a few wildflower species. </p>
<p>Many people have dipped their toe into the lazy gardener’s life through <a href="https://www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomowmay/">“no mow May”</a> – a national campaign to encourage people not to mow their lawns until the end of May. But you could opt to extend this practice until much later in the summer for even greater benefits.</p>
<p>Allowing your grass to grow longer, and interspersing it with pollen-rich flowers, can benefit many insects – especially bees. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866722002576?via%3Dihub">Research</a> finds that reducing mowing in urban and suburban environments has a positive effect on the amount and diversity of insects.</p>
<p>Your untamed lawn won’t only benefit insects. It will also encourage more birds, such as <a href="https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/gbw/gardens-wildlife/garden-birds/a-z-garden-birds/goldfinch">goldfinches</a>, to use your garden to feed on the seeds of common wildflower species such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/dandelion">dandelions</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A goldfinch feeding on dandelion seeds." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546460/original/file-20230905-31-v5vjj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546460/original/file-20230905-31-v5vjj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546460/original/file-20230905-31-v5vjj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546460/original/file-20230905-31-v5vjj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546460/original/file-20230905-31-v5vjj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546460/original/file-20230905-31-v5vjj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546460/original/file-20230905-31-v5vjj1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A goldfinch feeding on dandelion seeds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/european-goldfinch-feeding-on-dandelion-seeds-2164981297">Vladimir Woitscheck/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Store more water</h2>
<p>A well-left lawn encourages a more diverse root structure. Different plants have different types of roots. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/grass">Grasses</a>, for example, have thin roots that form a dense mat, plants like dandelions and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/Plantago">plantago</a> have tap roots (like a skinny carrot), and legumes like <a href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/clover/623792#:%7E:text=Encyclop%C3%A6dia%20Britannica%2C%20Inc.-,Encyclop%C3%A6dia%20Britannica%2C%20Inc.,green%20or%20the%20dry%20stage.">clover</a> have wide roots that form channels in the soil. </p>
<p>A more complex root structure encourages water infiltration, helping our gardens manage large deluges of rain. This can prevent runoff from our properties, potentially <a href="https://www.research.lancs.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/using-a-plant-functional-trait-approach-to-increase-buffer-zone-efficiency-and-reduce-diffuse-agricultural-pollution(20889c7f-f662-4abb-acb0-c9966f00dd00).html;%20https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-014-2373-5">reducing localised flooding</a>.</p>
<p>Our unruly, rain-soaked refuges not only hold water when there is too much. But they also preserve it when there isn’t enough. </p>
<p>During droughts and heatwaves – which are becoming a <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2549136060?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true">more common feature</a> of Europe’s summer season – longer lawns will capture more dew and direct it down towards the roots. This not only keeps water where it’s needed but also maintains the soil’s coolness, benefiting animals like <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/worm">worms</a> that live beneath the surface. Cutting grass during droughts and heatwaves can <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/lawns/drought-care">exacerbate stress for the plants</a>, adding to their misery during such conditions.</p>
<p>So an excellent way to avoid a brown, parched patch is to be slack. Mow it towards the end of summer and bask in your climate-friendly gardening success. And remember, the concept of laid-back gardening isn’t just for summer; it’s equally important during autumn and winter too.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 20,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aimee Brett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Your less manicured garden has the potential to combat tackle climate change and help wildlife survive.Aimee Brett, Lecturer in Ecology & Conservation, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2076562023-07-05T14:51:19Z2023-07-05T14:51:19ZWhy there are fewer insects on UK farms than there were a century ago – and how to restore them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535516/original/file-20230704-23-jom9rr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=572%2C0%2C2415%2C1405&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Farmed landscapes have become less hospitable habitats for insects.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/agricultural-plowed-field-ploughing-arable-land-775349260">Protasov AN/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Insect populations are declining worldwide at a rate of <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aax9931">almost 1% per year</a>. This decline is alarming. Insects play a crucial role in pollinating crops, controlling crop pests and maintaining soil fertility.</p>
<p>In the UK alone, pollination provided by bees and other insects adds <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.13755">over £600 million</a> to crop production every year. That’s about 10% of the country’s total annual crop value. </p>
<p>Through pollination, insects also make sure that fruit and vegetables are packed full of the vitamins and minerals needed for <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP10947">healthy human diets</a>. Insufficient pollination would result in lower-quality foods, less choice and higher food prices.</p>
<p>The decline of pollinating insects is already <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.2445">affecting crop yields</a> in the UK. <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/eap.2743">Research</a> on 20 UK apple orchards found that a lack of pollination led to average yield deficits (where the maximum potential output of these orchards was not reached) of up to 22%.</p>
<p>The issue extends beyond the UK’s borders. The UK imports a substantial proportion of fresh produce from regions such as Europe, north Africa, South America and Asia. So the global decline of pollinating insects also poses a <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10314">huge threat</a> to food security in the UK.</p>
<p>Just like fertiliser and water, these insects should be considered a legitimate agricultural input that needs to be protected and managed sustainably. There are effective methods available to restore beneficial insects to farmland, such as planting hedgerows and using pesticides sparingly, and farming practices are gradually changing. However, the implementation of these methods in the UK falls short of what is required to ensure the country’s food and nutritional security. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A bumblebee collecting pollen and nectar from an apple tree flower." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535741/original/file-20230705-24-psf5g3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535741/original/file-20230705-24-psf5g3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535741/original/file-20230705-24-psf5g3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535741/original/file-20230705-24-psf5g3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535741/original/file-20230705-24-psf5g3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535741/original/file-20230705-24-psf5g3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535741/original/file-20230705-24-psf5g3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A bumblebee collecting pollen and nectar from an apple tree flower.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bumblebee-fluttering-over-some-flowers-apple-2149485029">TopMicrobialStock/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Pollinators are under siege</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01534-9">main threats to pollinators</a> globally are changes in what land is used for and how it is managed. As a result of the shift to modern industrialised farming, flower meadows and hedgerows have been replaced by monocultures and increasingly large fields. Consequently, the diversity of food sources available to pollinators has decreased and farmed landscapes have generally become <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature20588">less hospitable</a> habitats for insects.</p>
<p>The excessive use of chemical pesticides and the impacts of climate change have made matters even worse. Rising temperatures are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192322004671">creating a mismatch</a> between crop flowering times and when pollinators emerge. Bumblebees, for example, which are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8414">vital pollinators</a> for crops both in the UK and globally, are <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaa7031">struggling to shift their range</a> in response to Europe’s warming climate.</p>
<p>Together, these factors are driving losses in the abundance and diversity of pollinator species. Modelling studies have revealed <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08974-9">around a 25% drop</a> in the number of bee and hoverfly species observed within any 10km area of the UK compared to the 1980s.</p>
<p>And yet, the UK’s reliance on pollinating insects is likely to increase in the future. </p>
<p>Factors including climate change, technological advancements, shifting market demands and policies promoting sustainable food security mean new and <a href="https://randd.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=20663">underutilised crops</a> such as soy, sunflowers and apricots are likely to be grown in the UK within the coming decades. Many of these crops <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2006.3721">benefit from</a> insect pollination.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A tractor spraying pesticides on a corn field." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535383/original/file-20230703-289680-cyhffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535383/original/file-20230703-289680-cyhffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535383/original/file-20230703-289680-cyhffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535383/original/file-20230703-289680-cyhffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535383/original/file-20230703-289680-cyhffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535383/original/file-20230703-289680-cyhffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535383/original/file-20230703-289680-cyhffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farming practices have contributed to the destruction of important insect habitats over the past century.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tractor-spraying-pesticides-on-corn-field-1866460120">Fotokostic/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Restoring insects to farms</h2>
<p>Thankfully, there has been a notable shift in farming practices in recent decades towards reducing fertiliser, herbicide and pesticide use and restoring insect habitats. One approach is <a href="https://www.fao.org/pest-and-pesticide-management/ipm/integrated-pest-management/en/">integrated pest management</a>. This is a strategy for sustainable crop pest control that is based on using pesticides only when they are absolutely necessary. </p>
<p>The strategy was developed in response to steadily increasing pesticide use, which caused <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13593-015-0327-9">environmental damage</a> and pesticide resistance. Farmers using integrated pest management are encouraged to prioritise the protection of natural predators such as wasps and spiders, which can help control pests effectively. </p>
<p>By reducing reliance on pesticides, integrated pest management also helps to protect pollinators. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature16167">Research</a> shows that bumblebees exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides (a widely used class of pesticide), for example, visited fewer flowers on apple trees and collected pollen less often. </p>
<p>In the UK, farmers are now incentivised to adopt environmentally sustainable practices through the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environmental-land-management-update-how-government-will-pay-for-land-based-environment-and-climate-goods-and-services/environmental-land-management-elm-update-how-government-will-pay-for-land-based-environment-and-climate-goods-and-services">environmental land management scheme</a>. This scheme, which was fully launched in 2023, pays farmers to undertake activities that protect and enhance the natural landscape. These activities include planting hedgerows and flower strips along field boundaries, or creating woodlands. </p>
<p><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2015.1740">Research</a> demonstrates that expanding natural habitats in the UK’s productive arable farmland can boost pollinating insect populations. And, despite taking a portion of land out of productive agriculture, this approach did not reduce harvests.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A hedgerow next to a cereal field featuring red and pink poppies." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535384/original/file-20230703-272779-sljzpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535384/original/file-20230703-272779-sljzpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535384/original/file-20230703-272779-sljzpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535384/original/file-20230703-272779-sljzpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535384/original/file-20230703-272779-sljzpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535384/original/file-20230703-272779-sljzpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535384/original/file-20230703-272779-sljzpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Providing natural habitats along field boundaries can boost insect populations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/english-hedgerow-featuring-pink-red-poppies-389335">Keith Naylor/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another option is <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/agroforestry">agroforestry</a>, where tree planting is deliberately combined with agriculture. This approach diversifies the farmed landscape and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880920302164?via%3Dihub">has been found</a> to support twice as many pollinators as conventional cropping systems. In the case of apple pollination, these systems can even provide up to four and a half times more pollination.</p>
<p>But to fully <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837722005245?via%3Dihub">amplify the benefits</a> of agroforestry for pollinators, the UK needs to meet its national tree planting targets of 30,000 hectares per year by 2030. The current rate of tree planting falls significantly short of this target. Between 2018 and 2022, only <a href="https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2022/09/Ch1_Woodland_2022.pdf">13,000 hectares were planted per year</a> in the UK.</p>
<p>Over the past century, farming practices have contributed to insect declines. Supporting farmers to provide high-quality habitats for insects will not only help to slow down – or even reverse – insect decline, but will help to secure the UK’s food security.</p>
<hr>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207656/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Potts receives funding from UKRI, NERC, BBSRC, EU, GCRF, Defra, NE, FAO, IUCN, Friends of the Earth, Waitrose, Sainsburys, BerryWorld, Syngenta, Avalon and Worldwide Fruit Limited. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Garratt receives funding from UKRI, NERC, BBSRC, EU, GCRF, Defra, Reserach Council of Norway, AHDB, UK Gov Green Recovery Challenge Fund, Newton fund, Syngenta, BerryWorld, Avalon and WWF Limited.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Breeze works for the European Union as a consultant. He has received funding from the European Union and UK Research and Innovation (BBSRC, NERC and ESRC). </span></em></p>Farms have become less friendly for our insect friends – this must be reversed if we want food to eat.Simon Potts, Professor of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, University of ReadingMichael Garratt, Principal Research Fellow, University of ReadingTom Breeze, Senior Research Fellow, University of ReadingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2076652023-06-15T14:12:25Z2023-06-15T14:12:25ZBees and hoverflies are key to growing more fruit and veg in cities – new research<p>Accessing affordable fruit and vegetables is a significant challenge for the 1.2 million UK residents living in what are known as “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/12/more-than-a-million-uk-residents-live-in-food-deserts-says-study">food deserts</a>”. </p>
<p>People in these neighbourhoods are unable to purchase fresh food within walking distance or via a quick trip on public transport. Instead, they have to choose between shopping at convenience stores with scarce fresh food in stock or spending some of their food budget on transportation. </p>
<p>But there is a solution. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971935925X">Growing fruit and vegetables in cities</a> is an effective and sustainable way of improving many urban residents’ access to fresh produce. In <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.10376">newly published research</a> on urban UK allotments, my colleagues and I found that maintaining a diversity of insects in our cities is an important part of this.</p>
<p>Urban farms, which account for around <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/9/11/114002">6% of all farmland</a> worldwide, have the potential to supply a significant amount of fresh food. Several studies, including those based on <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11625-020-00792-z">data collected by urban growers</a> themselves, have demonstrated that small urban farms (typically allotments or community and market gardens that are less than two hectares in size) can <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1809707115">match the productivity of conventional rural farms</a> in terms of food production per unit area. </p>
<p>But even in cities, humans rely on animals pollinating their food crops. In fact, approximately <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18644.x">three-quarters of the world’s leading food crops</a> depend on insects for pollination. </p>
<p>Yet our understanding of which insects pollinate specific crops in urban areas, and whether there are even enough insects in our cities to sustain fruit and vegetable production, remains limited. </p>
<p>Most research on crop pollination has focused on rural areas, leaving us with limited information about urban settings. While the role of <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0212">insect groups like flies and wasps</a> in crop pollination has only gained recognition relatively recently.</p>
<p>We found that most crops are visited by a broad range of insects. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/bumblebee">Bumblebees</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/hover-fly">hoverflies</a> emerged as two of the most important pollinators. But we also found that some crops, such as strawberries, struggle to attract enough pollinating insects to produce a quality crop. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Grow Tottenham community garden in north London." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532026/original/file-20230614-5814-okpu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532026/original/file-20230614-5814-okpu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532026/original/file-20230614-5814-okpu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532026/original/file-20230614-5814-okpu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532026/original/file-20230614-5814-okpu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532026/original/file-20230614-5814-okpu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532026/original/file-20230614-5814-okpu4f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ‘Grow Tottenham’ community garden, North London, UK.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-july-29-2020-grow-1812164746">cktravels.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Top of the crops</h2>
<p>Pollinating insects, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/bee">bees</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/beetle">beetles</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/fly-insect">flies</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/butterfly-insect">butterflies</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/wasp">wasps</a> visit flowers to collect pollen and nectar as a source of food. Through this process, they fertilise the flower, enabling development of seeds and growth of fruit or vegetables. </p>
<p>Our study involved conducting over 1,000 surveys in allotments across the city of Brighton & Hove in the south of England. During our surveys, we recorded the number of pollinators visiting crop flowers. </p>
<p>We found that fruit trees, including apples, and bushes like raspberries and blackberries, were most popular with insect visitors, receiving the most visits per flower. </p>
<p>Bumblebees visited the widest range of crops, including fruit trees, beans, pumpkins and tomatoes. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Bees are typically considered the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880911001046#:%7E:text=%E2%96%BA%20Insect%20pollinated%20crops%20cover,fallen%20from%2070.3%25%20since%201984.">most important pollinators</a> in fruit orchards. </p>
<p>But in our study, hoverflies were the main visitor to fruit trees. This finding aligns with <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-ento-011019-025055">research from 2020</a> that ranked flies as the second-most important crop pollinator after bees, visiting 72% of crop plants worldwide. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A hoverfly visiting a flower." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531947/original/file-20230614-31-dbxw7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531947/original/file-20230614-31-dbxw7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531947/original/file-20230614-31-dbxw7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531947/original/file-20230614-31-dbxw7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531947/original/file-20230614-31-dbxw7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531947/original/file-20230614-31-dbxw7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531947/original/file-20230614-31-dbxw7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hoverflies were the main visitor to fruit trees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/bee-flower-plum-blossom-insect-6075541/">HeungSoon/Pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With the data we collected, we created a visual representation resembling a “social network” of the interactions between different crops and insects. Our findings revealed that many of the crops that are cultivated in urban areas attract a diverse array of insect groups. </p>
<p>Apple flowers, for example, were visited by every type of pollinator except wasps. By contrast, cucumbers were visited by every group expect butterflies. These results suggest that maintaining a diversity of insects may be key for crop pollination in cities. </p>
<h2>Strawberries need a helping hand</h2>
<p>We also conducted an experiment with strawberries to test whether there are enough insects in urban allotments to effectively pollinate these crops. We assigned two similar sized plants to either a supplemental pollination treatment – where we transferred pollen between flowers by hand with a paintbrush – or open pollination where we relied on the insects to pollinate the plants. </p>
<p>The strawberry plants that were pollinated naturally by insects produced lower quality fruit than those receiving supplemental pollination by hand. This finding suggests that we need to improve the quality of insect pollination that some crops receive in cities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Strawberry flowers and fruit." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531949/original/file-20230614-21-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531949/original/file-20230614-21-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531949/original/file-20230614-21-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531949/original/file-20230614-21-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=592&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531949/original/file-20230614-21-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=743&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531949/original/file-20230614-21-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=743&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531949/original/file-20230614-21-dbn8gn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=743&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Strawberry flowers struggle to attract sufficient pollinators.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/strawberry-fruit-nature-red-fruits-834947/">guilhermedentista/Pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Food for cities</h2>
<p>Improving crop pollination in cities could be achieved by increasing the availability of food and nesting habitat for insects. A <a href="https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/een.12880">separate study</a> that I co-authored in 2020 demonstrated that planting flowers that produce lots of pollen and nectar, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/borage">borage</a>, alongside crops in allotments and gardens can increase the amount of food that is harvested. </p>
<p>We found that strawberry plants grown near borage plants produced a greater quantity of fruits that were larger and of superior quality compared to strawberry plants located further away from other flowering plants. </p>
<p>Our new study offers an insight into which specific pollinators we need to encourage to support and expand urban fruit and vegetable production. For instance, hoverflies are <a href="https://pollinationecology.org/index.php/jpe/article/view/470">effective pollinators of strawberries</a>. </p>
<p>So providing nesting habitat like <a href="https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/NsVACoy6DTjnK92UEWBhc?domain=thebuzzclub.uk">hoverfly lagoons</a> for these insects could increase their abundance in urban areas, ensuring more effective pollination and better strawberry harvests in the future. </p>
<p>Growing more food in cities has the potential to improve people’s access to fresh produce. But maintaining a diverse range of insects to pollinate those crops is an important factor in this. Only then will we be able to sustain and expand urban food production for the benefit of city dwellers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207665/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Nicholls receives funding from a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (MR/T021691/1) and the Sussex Sustainability Research Programme. </span></em></p>Maintaining a diversity of insects may be key for crop pollination in cities.Elizabeth Nicholls, Research Fellow in Ecology, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2017402023-03-21T10:42:11Z2023-03-21T10:42:11ZFrozen and tinned foods can be just as nutritious as fresh produce – here’s how<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516030/original/file-20230317-2210-fzynav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7360%2C4902&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Freezing lowers the amount of nutrients lost after harvesting.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/frozen-berries-vegetables-plastic-boxes-on-1772272658">SerPhoto/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The ongoing cost of living crisis and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/25/vegetable-shortages-in-uk-could-be-tip-of-iceberg-says-farming-union">fruit and vegetable shortages</a> have left many people worrying about how they’re going to get these important foods in their diet. Yet in spite of this, many people may still avoid frozen and tinned produce in the belief that fresh produce from the supermarket is better.</p>
<p>However, not only can frozen and tinned produce be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jsfa.2825">just as nutritious</a> as fresh fruits and vegetables, in some cases they may actually be more nutritious.</p>
<p>Some people shy away from frozen and tinned foods because they’re technically classified as “processed foods”. While these foods may include preservatives, these ingredients are tightly regulated and have <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/food-additives">no adverse effect on health</a>. Not to mention that the preservation processes used to prevent these foods from spoiling are actually the reason they’re able to maintain so many important nutrients. </p>
<h2>Nutrient quality</h2>
<p>Fruits and vegetables begin to lose nutrients <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925521400001332">as soon as they’re picked</a>. They can lose <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814697001659">up to half</a> of some nutrients within a couple of days of being harvested.</p>
<p>Vitamins such as vitamin C are especially susceptible to being lost after being picked. Green peas lose about half of their vitamin C within the first two days after harvest. Similar losses are observed in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814697001659">broccoli and beans</a>. </p>
<p>There are many reasons why these nutrients are lost after harvest. First, exposure to light and air can initiate a chemical process called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/photooxidation">photo-oxidation</a>, which causes nutrients to break down. In addition, natural enzymes present in foods can also break down the nutrients. Microorganisms from soil, air and water can also find their way into foods and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119237860.ch3">feed on the nutrients</a>. </p>
<p>But the methods used to freeze and can foods both prevent spoilage and lower the amount of nutrients lost from the product, as they stop these processes in their tracks. </p>
<p>Canning involves adding heat into foods – typically using temperatures between 120-140°C to preserve them. Even though foods are only subjected to these temperatures for a few minutes at a time, this <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118406281.ch6">inactivates certain enzymes and destroys most microorganisms</a>, preventing the food from spoiling while ensuring many important nutrients aren’t lost.</p>
<p>Freezing, on the other hand, removes heat from the food. By lowering its temperature enough that the water in the food freezes (around -20°C), this slows down the chemical reactions that occur in food – again, preventing important nutrients from being lost. It’s also common practice to <a href="https://www.clemson.edu/extension/food/canning/canning-tips/43why-blanch.html#:%7E:text=Blanching%20is%20scalding%20vegetables%20in,of%20flavor%2C%20color%20and%20texture.">blanch foods</a> prior to freezing. This also inactivates the natural enzymes in the foods, preventing further nutrient loss.</p>
<p>Thermal processes (such as canning and blanching) can themselves lead to some inevitable nutrient loss. But the extent of this loss depends on the foods and the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jsfa.2825">nutrients they contain</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An assortment of canned vegetables, including red kidney beans, peas, and sweetcorn." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516031/original/file-20230317-2482-jdlm9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516031/original/file-20230317-2482-jdlm9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516031/original/file-20230317-2482-jdlm9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516031/original/file-20230317-2482-jdlm9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516031/original/file-20230317-2482-jdlm9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516031/original/file-20230317-2482-jdlm9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/516031/original/file-20230317-2482-jdlm9s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Certain nutrients may be more susceptible to loss during the canning process.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-opened-cans-vegetables-369176183">Julie Clopper/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Canning generally leads to a much higher loss of some nutrients than blanching and freezing. This is because it employs higher temperatures and harsher processing conditions, with most fruits and vegetables needing to be boiled in water before being sealed.</p>
<p>Carrots, for example, lose very little vitamin C during freezing. But they can lose a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jsfa.2825">significant proportion</a> of their vitamin C during canning because it’s a water-soluble vitamin – meaning that it’s easily broken down in water, especially after being degraded by heat. </p>
<p>In contrast, vitamin A loss is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jsfa.2824">much lower during canning</a> since it’s more stable against heat. In fact, more vitamin A is lost during the freezing process.</p>
<h2>Important nutrients</h2>
<p>Though some nutrients can be lost during the blanching, freezing and canning processes, in many cases the foods still retain more important nutrients than they would if picked just before peak ripeness and shipped to their destination supermarket. For example, research shows that the <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf5058793">vitamin content of frozen blueberries</a> is comparable – and sometimes even higher – than that of fresh blueberries. </p>
<p>And while tinned peaches may lose some nutrients during the canning process, there’s then virtually <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jsfa.5849">no change in their nutrient levels</a> even after three months in storage. The same is true of many other canned and frozen produce, such as peas, sweetcorn and broccoli, which keep <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jsfa.2824">many of their nutrients</a> even after a year in storage. </p>
<p>The same applies to other compounds present in foods. For example, polyphenols – natural compounds found in most fruits and vegetables, some of which have been linked to <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-whole-new-way-of-doing-nutrition-research-148352">better heart health</a> – can be <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jsfa.2825">preserved for longer</a> through freezing.</p>
<p>Ultimately, while there may be some differences in the nutrients available in fresh versus frozen or tinned produce, no one type of food is significantly better than the other. Well, in most cases.</p>
<p>The exceptions include <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3850026/">lycopene in tomatoes</a>, the compound that gives tomatoes their red colour, which is actually <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28239121/">higher in canned tomatoes</a> than fresh tomatoes. There are several reasons for this – such as the high temperatures used during canning helping release more lycopene. And since it is linked with a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7666898/">lower risk of cardiovascular disease</a>, you may want to consider buying canned tomatoes instead – or canning fresh tomatoes yourself.</p>
<p>Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are a great way of getting the nutritional benefits of fresh produce without breaking the bank. And in the midst of our current food shortages, they can be a more accessible and longer-lasting option.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201740/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fresh fruits and vegetables actually lose nutrients as soon as they’re picked.Gunter Kuhnle, Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, University of ReadingKeshavan Niranjan, Professor of Food Bioprocessing, University of ReadingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2011392023-03-14T15:55:12Z2023-03-14T15:55:12ZUK food shortages: how growing more fruit and veg in cities could reduce the impact of empty supermarket shelves<p>British supermarkets are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/25/vegetable-shortages-in-uk-could-be-tip-of-iceberg-says-farming-union">imposing limits</a> on how many salad staples shoppers can buy as supply shortages leave shelves empty of some types of fruit and vegetables. The disappearance of fresh produce is said to be largely the result of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/spain-vegetables-exports-idUSL1N3530YU">adverse weather</a> leading to a reduced harvest in southern Europe and North Africa. </p>
<p>Freezing temperatures caused tomato production in the southern Spanish region of Almeria to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/spain-vegetables-exports-idUSL1N3530YU">drop 22%</a> during the first few weeks of February compared to the same period in 2022. Extra <a href="https://time.com/6259673/uk-vegetable-shortage-brexit/">bureaucracy associated with Brexit</a> and <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1126144/quarterly-energy-prices-december-2022.pdf">skyrocketing energy prices</a> are also likely to have exacerbated the severity of the shortages.</p>
<p>This is not the first time the fragility of the UK’s fruit and vegetable supply has been exposed, nor will it be the last. The UK is highly reliant on imports of fresh produce – sourcing <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/latest-horticulture-statistics">more than 40%</a> of its vegetables and more than 80% of its fruit from abroad each year – so is already vulnerable to supply chain shocks. And climate change is <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/climate-change/effects-of-climate-change">increasing the frequency of extreme weather</a> events.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/adhocs/004356ukpopulationestimates1851to2014">more than 80%</a> of people in the UK now live in urban areas. Expanding fruit and vegetable production in cities – a practice called <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">urban horticulture</a> – could thus help to reduce the severity of supermarket supply shortages in the future. The scale of food production from conventional farming without doubt dwarfs production from balconies, gardens or allotments. Yet research suggests that urban horticulture can still increase the availability of fresh produce to city dwellers. </p>
<h2>Growing food in cities</h2>
<p>The UK’s secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, Therese Coffey, suggested in February that people should <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/supermarket-shortages-farmers-union-swipes-at-therese-coffey-over-flippant-turnip-comments_uk_63fb43cde4b0c253d345889a">“cherish the specialisms that we have in this country”</a>, notably singling out the turnip. But urban horticulture can provide a diverse range of seasonal fruit and vegetable crops. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971935925X">Our research</a>, which was published in 2020, found nearly 68 different crop species growing in allotments across the city of Leicester. The crops included strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes and lettuce. Some of these crops (tomato and lettuce) have been affected by the ongoing shortages.</p>
<p>Evidence also suggests that urban horticultural practices can be an effective way of feeding city dwellers. Our team at the University of Sheffield has <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">demonstrated</a> that if 10% of the land available for urban horticulture in the city of Sheffield was put into production, then it could feed 15% of the city’s population the <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/924120916X">five-a-day diet</a> recommended by the World Health Organization. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Four vegetable plots on the flat roof of a building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515146/original/file-20230314-20-e4rlzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515146/original/file-20230314-20-e4rlzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515146/original/file-20230314-20-e4rlzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515146/original/file-20230314-20-e4rlzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515146/original/file-20230314-20-e4rlzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515146/original/file-20230314-20-e4rlzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515146/original/file-20230314-20-e4rlzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A rooftop vegetable garden is one way of increasing food production in cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rooftop-garden-vegetable-growing-vegetables-on-1010959666">YuRi Photolife/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reluctant horticulturalists</h2>
<p>“Growing your own” is something the UK has done well in the past, particularly in times of national need. The government’s “Dig for Victory” campaign during the second world war encouraged people to grow their own food. As a result, <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/597667/Family_Food_2015-09mar17.pdf">18% of the UK’s wartime fruit and vegetable supply</a> was grown by households.</p>
<p>Previous generations also used <a href="https://www.thestar.co.uk/lifestyle/outdoors/sheffield-study-highlights-impact-of-home-grown-food-2552077">various techniques</a> to preserve their produce for use in the winter months when fresh fruit and vegetables were scarce. However, the food preferences of British people have changed. Out-of-season products are now available at all times of the year, and people have become used to their ready supply. </p>
<p>There is plenty of land available in cities to increase food production. Allotments currently account for less than 2% of Sheffield’s available green space. But encouraging people to use this space to grow their own food remains a challenge. </p>
<p>Growing enough food on allotments and in gardens to feed an entire household is time-consuming. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/5/2628">Research</a> that we conducted in 2021 found that an allotment demands 87 annual visits and approximately 150 hours of your time. So at present, food grown traditionally in allotments feeds <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">just 3%</a> of the UK’s city dwellers.</p>
<h2>Greater variety</h2>
<p>There is, however, increasing potential to grow crops all year round in controlled environment systems that could be incorporated into the urban landscape using spaces such as flat roofs or disused buildings. These crops can be grown in a soil-free substrate with the required nutrients supplied in water using <a href="https://www.fao.org/land-water/overview/covid19/homegardens/en/">hydroponic or aquaponic systems</a>. </p>
<p>One key advantage of growing food in these systems is the potential to grow crops year round with multiple harvests. This can greatly increase the annual yield. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/3/3/1101">One study</a> on urban vegetable production in the Canadian city of Montreal found that tomato yields in hydroponic systems are about <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971935925X">seven times higher</a> than the yield achieved by growing tomatoes seasonally on allotments.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Indoor hydroponic vegetable plant factory in exhibition space warehouse." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515148/original/file-20230314-20-zvb6yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515148/original/file-20230314-20-zvb6yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515148/original/file-20230314-20-zvb6yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515148/original/file-20230314-20-zvb6yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=262&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515148/original/file-20230314-20-zvb6yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515148/original/file-20230314-20-zvb6yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515148/original/file-20230314-20-zvb6yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=330&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An indoor hydroponic farm growing lettuce.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/indoor-hydroponic-vegetable-plant-factory-exhibition-1695611827">Nikolay_E/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It may even be possible to integrate polytunnel-based hydroponics into farms on the fringes of cities that have already established local supply chains. But, as with crops grown in controlled environments like polytunnels and greenhouses in rural farms, the challenge is how to make production economically viable and sustainable. The energy costs associated with maintaining optimal growing conditions for the plants in hydroponic systems are quite high, so variability in energy costs may be a significant factor. </p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">scientific, engineering and technological developments</a> could support the expansion of these more productive systems. Methods that use waste urban heat and safely recycle urban waste water or collect rain water, use cheap renewable energy to power lighting, and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/nbu.12531">grow substrates sustainably</a> are all under development. </p>
<p>More research is required before these systems can be integrated into urban areas. But the need is clear – we must develop a more resilient supply of fruit and vegetable crops in the UK. This will require a transformation in the UK in the way we grow our horticultural produce. Urban horticulture, both soil-based and soil-free, as well as a shift to more seasonal eating, could make an important contribution to improving the UK’s resilience to future fruit and vegetable supply shortages.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201139/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jill Edmondson receives funding from BBSRC (BB/V004719/1), EPSRC (EP/N030095/1) and NERC (NE/X000443/1). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Leake receives funding from UKRI via BBSRC grants (BB/R021716/1, BB/T010789/1, BB/V004719/1) and NERC (NE/X000273/1). He is affiliated with The Sustainable Soils Alliance as a scientific advisor, and Yorkshire Agricultural Society Farmer-Scientist Network as vice-chair. </span></em></p>UK supermarket shelves have been left bare of fresh produce in recent weeks – growing more fruit and veg in cities could reduce the severity of future shortages.Jill Edmondson, Research Fellow in Environmental Change, University of SheffieldJonathan Leake, Professor of Plant-Soil Interactions, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2012162023-03-07T18:03:32Z2023-03-07T18:03:32ZHow ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables could tackle food waste and solve supermarket supply shortages<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513928/original/file-20230307-20-8k3e5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=248%2C63%2C2343%2C2019&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">'Ugly' produce might be just as delicious but still gets rejected based on looks.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bell-pepper-head-741871045">Rosie2/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The world is facing a significant food waste problem, with <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i4068e/i4068e.pdf">up to half of all fruit and vegetables</a> lost somewhere along the agricultural food chain. Globally, around <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/ca6030en/ca6030en.pdf">14% of food produced</a> is lost after harvesting but before it reaches shops and supermarkets. </p>
<p>Alongside food prices (66%), food waste is a concern for 60% of people that participated in a <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/research/food-and-you-2/food-and-you-2-wave-5">recent survey</a> published by the UK Food Standards Agency. <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmenvfru/429/429.pdf">Other research</a> suggests that as much as 25% of apples, 20% of onions and 13% of potatoes grown in the UK are destroyed because they don’t look right. This means that producers’ efforts to meet stringent specifications from buyers can lead to <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmenvfru/429/429.pdf">perfectly edible produce being discarded</a> before it even leaves the farm – simply because of how it looks. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ugly-veg-supermarkets-arent-the-biggest-food-wasters-you-are-111398">Ugly veg: supermarkets aren't the biggest food wasters – you are</a>
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<p>Aside from the ongoing environmental implications of this food waste, UK shoppers currently face <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/04/food-tsar-blames-shortages-on-uks-weird-supermarket-culture">produce rationing in some supermarkets</a> due to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/28/british-supermarkets-are-rationing-fruit-and-vegetables-amid-shortages.html">shortages of items like tomatoes, cucumbers and raspberries</a>. Any solutions that increase locally grown produce on shop shelves could improve the availability of fresh food, particularly in urban areas.</p>
<p>When imperfect fruit and vegetables don’t make it to supermarket shelves, it can be due to <a href="https://cases.open.ubc.ca/insistence-on-cosmetically-perfect-fruits-vegetables/">cosmetic standards</a>. Supermarkets and consumers often prefer produce of a fairly standard size that’s free of blemishes, scars and other imperfections. This means fruit and vegetables that are misshapen, discoloured, or even too small or too large, are rejected before they make it to supermarket shelves.</p>
<p>In recent years there has been a growing trend of selling such “ugly” fruit and vegetables, both by <a href="https://my.morrisons.com/wonky-fruit-veg/">major</a> <a href="https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/content/sustainability/food-waste">supermarket</a> <a href="https://www.tescoplc.com/news/2021/wonky-veg-5th-anniversary/">chains</a>, as well as <a href="https://wonkyvegboxes.co.uk/">speciality</a> <a href="https://www.misfitsmarket.com/?exp=plans_rollback">retailers</a> that sell <a href="https://www.oddbox.co.uk/">boxes</a> of <a href="https://etepetete-bio.de/">wonky produce</a>. And research has shown that 87% of people say they would <a href="https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fruit-and-veg/nearly-90-of-consumers-would-eat-wonky-fruit-and-veg-according-to-new-survey/670155.article">eat wonky fruit and vegetables if they were available</a>. But other research indicates consumers can still be picky and difficult to predict. One study <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329316302002?via%3Dihub">showed</a> consumers are likely to throw away an apple with a spot, but would eat a bent cucumber.</p>
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<img alt="Root vegetables, non-standard shape, oddly shaped, in a green basket; purple and orange carrots, potatoes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513672/original/file-20230306-20-aw2hej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513672/original/file-20230306-20-aw2hej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513672/original/file-20230306-20-aw2hej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513672/original/file-20230306-20-aw2hej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513672/original/file-20230306-20-aw2hej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513672/original/file-20230306-20-aw2hej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513672/original/file-20230306-20-aw2hej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Misshapen root vegetables at a French farmers market.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/trendy-ugly-misshapen-root-vegetable-french-293318456">EQRoy/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Getting ugly produce into baskets</h2>
<p>So how can producers and retailers boost the amount of non-standard fruit and veg that not only reaches our shelves, but also our plates? <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221723000668">Our recent research</a> suggests a separate channel for selling ugly produce would increase profits for growers, lower prices for consumers and boost overall demand for produce.</p>
<p>For growers, a dedicated channel – either independent or set up by a supermarket – to supply wonky fruit and veg creates a new line of business. For retailers, this provides an opportunity for further revenue over and above current sales of standard produce to shops. When selling both types of product to a single retailer, the ugly items might be undervalued compared with the standard-looking products. Our research also shows that selling the ugly produce through a dedicated channel is likely to increase total demand for fruit and vegetables, while also decreasing on-farm loss.</p>
<p>Having two parallel channels for selling produce (the main one and the dedicated “ugly” channel) would increase competition. This benefits shoppers by lowering prices for regular and ugly produce, versus selling both types of products alongside each other in one shop.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the growing market for ugly fruit and vegetables could be an economic threat to traditional retailers. It encourages new entrants into the market and could also limit the availability of “regular” produce because growers could become less stringent about ensuring produce meets traditional cosmetic standards.</p>
<p>But there is a way for traditional retailers to add ugly produce into their product offerings alongside other produce without affecting their profits. By building on existing consumer awareness of the environmental benefits of ugly food, they could also compete in this growing segment. This would benefit their bottom lines and help consumer acceptance of misshapen fruit and vegetables, possibly leading to less food waste and shortages like those UK shoppers are experiencing right now.</p>
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<img alt="Trendy ugly organic vegetables. Assortment of fresh eggplant, onion, carrot, zucchini, potatoes, pumpkin, pepper on green background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513671/original/file-20230306-28-r3p75w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C5%2C983%2C646&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513671/original/file-20230306-28-r3p75w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513671/original/file-20230306-28-r3p75w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513671/original/file-20230306-28-r3p75w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513671/original/file-20230306-28-r3p75w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513671/original/file-20230306-28-r3p75w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513671/original/file-20230306-28-r3p75w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/trendy-ugly-organic-vegetables-assortment-fresh-1682243839">j.chizhe/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Boosting demand for imperfect fruit and vegetables across the supply chain will require all participants to get involved – from grower to seller. Here are some steps the various parties could take:</p>
<h2>1. Educating consumers</h2>
<p>Education about the environmental and economic impact of food waste could happen through marketing campaigns, in-store displays and even social media.</p>
<h2>2. Reducing cosmetic standards</h2>
<p>Supermarkets and other major food retailers could revise their cosmetic standards to accept a wider range of produce, including imperfect fruit and vegetables. This would help reduce food waste by making sure more produce is able to be sold.</p>
<h2>3. Direct sales</h2>
<p>Farmers and growers could sell non-standard produce directly to consumers through farmers’ markets or subscription services. This allows consumers to purchase fresh, locally grown produce that might not meet cosmetic standards for supermarkets but that is just as nutritionally beneficial.</p>
<h2>4. Food donations</h2>
<p>Supermarkets and growers could donate produce rejected for how it looks to food banks, shelters and other organisations that serve those in need. This would help reduce food waste while also providing healthy food to those who might not otherwise have access to it.</p>
<h2>5. Value-added products</h2>
<p>Produce that doesn’t meet cosmetic standards could also be used to create other products such as soups, sauces and juices. In addition to reducing food waste, this would create new revenue streams for growers and retailers.</p>
<h2>6. Food composting</h2>
<p>Anything that cannot be sold or otherwise used should be composted. This would help reduce food waste while also creating nutrient-rich soil for future crops.</p>
<p>By implementing these solutions, the supply chain can reduce the amount of ugly or imperfect fruit and vegetables that are wasted, while also providing consumers with healthy, affordable produce, even in times of supply chain shortages.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201216/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Manoj Dora receives funding from UKRI, British Academy, British Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Behzad Hezarkhani, Güven Demirel, and Yann Bouchery do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Selling misshapen, bruised fruit and vegetables that are not a standard size requires a supply chain rethink, according to research.Behzad Hezarkhani, Reader in Operations Management, Brunel University LondonGüven Demirel, Senior Lecturer in Supply Chain Management, Queen Mary University of LondonManoj Dora, Professor in Sustainable Production and Consumption, Anglia Ruskin UniversityYann Bouchery, Associate Professor in Operations Management, Kedge Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1921132022-11-09T16:24:21Z2022-11-09T16:24:21ZFruit and veg: is it better to peel them?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491313/original/file-20221024-8664-wyan41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C0%2C5662%2C3803&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-hands-peeling-apple-womans-removes-1964101192">Piero Facci/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many people’s default when preparing fruit and vegetables is to peel them. But often, it’s not necessary. There are important nutrients in the peel. And, what’s more, discarded fruit and veg peels contribute to climate change.</p>
<p>Fruit and vegetables are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, fibre and many phytochemicals (plant chemicals), such as antioxidants (substances that protect your cells from harm). Not consuming enough of these nutrient-rich foods is linked to an increased risk of <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cb6234en/cb6234en.pdf">chronic diseases</a>, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In 2017, the World Health Organization reported that around 3.9 million deaths a year worldwide were attributable to people not eating enough fruit and veg. </p>
<p>Eating 400g of fruit and vegetables a day, <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet">as the WHO recommends</a>, is difficult to achieve for many people. So could consuming fruit and vegetable peel help with this issue by adding important nutrients to people’s diets?</p>
<p>They can certainly contribute. For example, nutritionally important amounts of vitamins, such as vitamin C and riboflavin, and minerals such as iron and zinc, are found in the peel of <a href="http://www.ifrj.upm.edu.my/24%20(01)%202017/(37).pdf">seven root vegetables</a>: beetroot, field mustard, wild carrot, sweet potato, radish, ginger and white potato. And the <a href="https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171688/nutrients;%20https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171689/nutrients">US Department of Agriculture</a> shows that unpeeled apples contain 15% more vitamin C, 267% more vitamin K, 20% more calcium, 19% more potassium and 85% more fibre than their peeled equivalents. Also, many peels are rich in biologically active phytochemicals, such as flavonoids and polyphenols, which have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. </p>
<p>Another reason to not discard peels is their effect on the environment. According to the UN’s <a href="https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/FAO-UNEP-agriculture-environment-food-loss-waste-day-2022/en">Food and Agriculture Organization</a>, uneaten food, including peel, generates 8%-10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. (Food rotting in landfills releases methane, the most potent greenhouse gas.) New Zealand alone reports an annual wastage of <a href="https://lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz/peel-vegetables/">13,658 tonnes of vegetable peels and 986 tonnes of fruit peels</a> – a country with a population of only 5.1 million people. </p>
<p>Given the nutrient content of peel and its contribution to food waste, why do people peel fruit and vegetables at all? Some must be peeled as the outer portions are <a href="https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/peeling-fruits-veggies">inedible, don’t taste nice, are hard to clean or cause harm</a>, such as banana, orange, melon, pineapple, mango, avocado, onion and garlic. Also, peeling may be a necessary part of the recipe, for example, when making mashed potato. But many peels, such as potato, beetroot, carrot, kiwifruit and cucumber, are edible, yet people peel them anyway.</p>
<h2>Pesticide residue</h2>
<p>Some people peel fruit and veg because they are concerned about pesticides on the surface. Pesticide residues are certainly retained on or just below the surface, although this varies according to plant species. But most of these residues can be removed by washing. Indeed, the US <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/selecting-and-serving-produce-safely#prep">Food and Drug Administration</a> recommends that people wash produce thoroughly under cold water and scrub it with a stiff brush to remove pesticides, dirt and chemicals. </p>
<p>Cooking techniques, such as boiling and steaming, can also reduce pesticide residue. But not all pesticide residues are removed by washing and cooking. And people who are concerned about their exposure to pesticides may still wish to peel. Lists of pesticide contents for fruit and vegetables are available in some countries, for example, the <a href="https://www.pan-uk.org/dirty-dozen/">Pesticide Action Network</a> produce one for the UK. This can help you to decide which fruit and veg to peel and which peels can be eaten.</p>
<p>If you want to find out more about fruit and vegetable peel and what to do with it, there is lots of advice online including help on how to use peels for <a href="https://www.soilassociation.org/take-action/growing-at-home/allotments-and-home-growing/make-your-own-compost/?gclid=CjwKCAjw2OiaBhBSEiwAh2ZSP-sMpQ8cMuj3Iysoai0AQCXU1gHpEW-1XNPFHByY1vrKhUKunGzuAhoCClwQAvD_BwE">composting</a>, to feed a <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/soil-composts-mulches/worm-composting">wormery</a>, or <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-use-fruit-vegetable-scraps">incorporation into recipes</a>. With a little investigation and creativity, you can help to reduce waste and increase your fruit and vegetable intake. Surely it’s worth a try? And you’ll be helping to meet one of the UN’s sustainable development goals: to <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">halve food waste by 2030</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192113/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsty Hunter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Not all fruit and vegetables need to be peeled. In fact, a lot of nutrients are lost when we peel them.Kirsty Hunter, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1880852022-08-08T15:00:34Z2022-08-08T15:00:34ZScrapping use-by dates could prevent huge amounts of food waste – here’s what else could help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477857/original/file-20220805-7849-chxbry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Supermarkets are beginning to remove date labels on fruit and veg to tackle the food waste issue.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-standing-front-row-produce-grocery-358499339">Adam Melnyk/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Before ending up on a European supermarket shelf, an avocado has effectively emitted <a href="https://www.blog.industrialecology.uni-freiburg.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/LCA_tropical_fruits_Julian_Egle_Tobias_Bahmer_Peiman_Hadjian.pdf">1.3 kilograms of carbon</a> into the atmosphere. Its production alone consumes <a href="https://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Report47-WaterFootprintCrops-Vol1.pdf">60 gallons of water</a>. Despite this, the fruit will often be discarded as household waste.</p>
<p>Wastage occurs at each stage of the food supply chain, but household food waste is one of the most significant. British households waste an estimated 6.7 million tonnes of food each year, amounting to approximately 32% of all purchased food items. </p>
<p>Household food waste is also notoriously difficult to manage. <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BFJ-03-2020-0195/full/html">Studies</a> show that consumers often both fail to understand the environmental consequences of food waste, and are rarely held accountable for it.</p>
<h2>Household food waste is the result of mismanagement</h2>
<p>Much of this wastage is avoidable and the food may have been eaten had it been better managed. This has prompted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/01/waitrose-removes-best-before-dates-from-fresh-food-to-reduce-waste">Waitrose</a> to join a growing number of food retailers in removing date labelling, such as the “use-by” or “best-before” date, from some fresh food items in an attempt to reduce household food waste.</p>
<p>Past studies have confirmed the importance of date labelling on consumers’ decision making. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12351-017-0352-3">Almost 60%</a> of western European consumers surveyed said they “always” check date labels while purchasing a food item or preparing a meal.</p>
<p>But the routine application of date labelling has long come under criticism. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266615432200028X?via%3Dihub">recent study</a> attributed consumers’ failure to understand the application of date labelling to an increased likelihood of irrational decision making. Indeed, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ijcs.12634">research</a> has shown that consumers commonly reject edible, but date-expired food, rejecting up to 56.7% of such food on average.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1541-4337.12086">Institute of Food Technologists</a> additionally question whether date labels are an accurate measure of food safety anyway, as post-packaging temperature control cannot be assured.</p>
<p>The removal of date labelling is therefore a promising start. Without date labels, often dubious information that may interfere with the consumers perception of what is edible, is removed. Instead, consumers are encouraged to <a href="https://toogoodtogo.co.uk/en-gb/campaign/commitment">sense-check</a> fresh food items.</p>
<p>In the case of an avocado, the <a href="https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/when-is-an-avocado-bad#2.-Blackened-skin">advice</a> given to consumers is that when ripe, it should have a “pleasant and slightly sweet aroma”, whilst the skin should be “dark green or brown”. Information is also provided on how an avocado should look, taste, and feel when “overripe”. It is hoped that a better informed consumer will be less likely to blindly discard food due to a lapsed date.</p>
<p>The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-02/WRAP-Reducing-household-food-waste-and-plastic-packaging-Summary.pdf">predict</a> that approximately 50,000 tonnes of food waste could be avoided each year in the UK if date labels were removed from just apples, bananas, potatoes, cucumber and broccoli.</p>
<h2>Should retailers be doing more?</h2>
<p>Despite growing momentum in date label removal, industry stakeholders remain insistent that retailers are duty-bound <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/taking-action/food-drink/initiatives/food-waste-reduction-roadmap">to do more</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://food.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-02/fw_eu_actions_dm_20211130_report_1.pdf">Some research</a> suggests that retailers should also explore alternative ways of expressing labelling to better meet consumers’ informational needs. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341448757_Best_before_often_good_after_Re-Scripting_the_Date_Label_of_Food_in_Norway">Re-scripted date labels</a> such as “best before, often good after” may encourage the acceptance of “date-expired” foods in the knowledge that the item remains safe to consume.</p>
<p>Encouraging people to buy appropriate amounts of food items is also an effective way of reducing food waste. Supermarkets are being placed under <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/resources/report/reducing-household-food-waste-and-plastic-packaging">increasing pressure</a> to sell loose products. WRAP forecast <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-02/WRAP-Reducing-household-food-waste-and-plastic-packaging-Summary.pdf">considerable waste reductions</a> should this be implemented nationwide.</p>
<h2>Changing the behaviour of consumers</h2>
<p>Gradually changing ingrained consumer behaviour, through long-term awareness campaigns is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/bse.1966">often considered</a> key to reducing food waste. Commercial campaigns and targeted community outreach programmes can contribute to a greater understanding of the science behind date labels. They can also encourage consumers to source food locally and participate in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/jan/24/uk-could-grow-up-fruit-and-vegetables-urban-green-spaces">urban farming schemes</a>. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/15/city-allotments-could-be-as-productive-as-conventional-farms-research-finds">pilot study</a> at the University of Sussex analysed fruit and vegetable yields from 34 urban allotments. They found that urban growers were able to grow 1kg of fruit and vegetables per sq metre, a yield within the range of a conventional farm. </p>
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<img alt="Five allotment patches with densely built houses and a cloudy blue sky in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477855/original/file-20220805-29596-nq4d1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477855/original/file-20220805-29596-nq4d1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477855/original/file-20220805-29596-nq4d1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477855/original/file-20220805-29596-nq4d1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477855/original/file-20220805-29596-nq4d1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477855/original/file-20220805-29596-nq4d1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477855/original/file-20220805-29596-nq4d1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Urban allotments can often be very productive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/antwerp-belgium-july-2020-city-garden-1939378696">Kristof Bellens/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652618304438">Changing consumers’ perceptions</a> through innovative social and commercial initiatives, also represent increasingly popular food waste reduction strategies. Downloadable meal planning and <a href="https://stopfoodwaste.org/tips/plan/shopping-tips">smart shopping tips</a> both encourage responsible shopping practices. </p>
<p>Fresh food box schemes which supply precise quantities of ingredients for specific dishes also substantially reduces household food waste. The Wuppertal Institute <a href="https://cdn.hellofresh.com/gb/cms/Sustainability/Summary_GlobalFoodWasteStudy.pdf">reports</a> that HelloFresh meals generate 51% less food waste than non-HelloFresh meals.</p>
<p>While the removal of date labels indicates a growing desire to reduce food waste, it is effective only if consumers are supported with better information and encouraged to simultaneously adopt more sustainable shopping practices. While changing dietary culture and consumer behaviours towards greater sustainability is an arduous process, it is a necessary one as we transition towards greater responsibility in food waste management.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188085/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lingxuan Liu receives funding from ESRC and BBSRC of UKRI. </span></em></p>British households waste nearly 32% of all purchased food items per year.Lingxuan Liu, Lecturer in Sustainability, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1739432022-01-18T14:41:51Z2022-01-18T14:41:51ZUrban health, wellbeing and food supplies are all under threat: growing more food in cities could change that<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441296/original/file-20220118-21-m671aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C0%2C6211%2C4147&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Only 3% of UK households eat homegrown fruit and vegetables.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/greenhouse-planting-spring-beds-6226263/">Katya_Ershova/Pixabay</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A supply of fresh fruit and vegetables is crucial to a healthy nation – and to building a <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-exposed-fragility-in-our-food-system-its-time-to-build-something-more-resilient-139781">food system</a> that <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sustainable-food/national-food-strategy-response/fruit-and-vegetables">makes us well</a> instead of sick. </p>
<p>The recent target of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-national-food-strategy-and-how-could-it-change-the-way-england-eats-164410">30% increase</a> in fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK by 2032, set last year by the independent <a href="https://www.nationalfoodstrategy.org/">National Food Strategy</a> review, means we need to consider how these fruit and veg can be grown sustainably: and how we can encourage people to eat more of them.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">Urban horticulture</a> is a largely <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVFtjbik26Q">overlooked</a> way of providing fresh, high-quality food to city dwellers by producing fruit and vegetables within cities, that has historically been vital for the UK’s food supply. </p>
<p>During the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-shock-of-the-second-world-war-transformed-the-british-state-recovery-podcast-part-four-141324">second world war</a>, as part of the government’s “<a href="https://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item107597.html">Dig for Victory</a>” gardening campaign, 18% of the fruit and vegetables eaten by UK citizens were grown <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.20">domestically</a> in allotments and gardens. Yet in 2018, that figure was <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-food-201819/family-food-201819">just 3%</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An allotment with various plants" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Allotments are commonly used to grow fruit and vegetables.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kotomi-jewelry/19666011152">Kotomi_/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>With <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/urban-population-percent-of-total-wb-data.html">84%</a> of the UK population now living in cities and towns, as a nation we’ve become largely detached from the practice or possibility of growing our own food. But there’s more and more evidence to suggest that reviving this practice could be the key to shoring up our <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/10/2389/htm">food security</a> against threats like <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-and-extreme-weather-may-lead-to-food-shortages-and-escalating-prices-172646">climate change</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-simulated-how-a-modern-dust-bowl-would-impact-global-food-supplies-and-the-result-is-devastating-133662">supply chain breakdowns</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-how-the-pandemic-increased-food-poverty-in-the-uk-161620">disease</a>.</p>
<h2>Five a day</h2>
<p>Just over a <a href="http://healthsurvey.hscic.gov.uk/data-visualisation/data-visualisation/explore-the-trends/fruit-vegetables.aspx">quarter</a> of the UK population actually eat “five a day”: the number of portions of fruit and vegetables the <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/why-5-a-day">World Health Organization</a> recommends adults consume. This is linked to income: the <a href="https://foodfoundation.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-09/Peas-Please-Veg-Facts-2021.pdf">richest 20%</a> of the population eats on average one portion more of vegetables per day compared to the poorest 20%. And the consequences are serious: a diet lacking in fresh fruit and veg can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5837313/">increase the risk</a> of stroke, heart disease and some cancers.</p>
<p>If we are to address these inequalities, we need to create an equal food environment. Promoting urban horticulture could help achieve this by putting fruit and vegetable production back at the heart and in the hands of local communities.</p>
<p>Commercially grown fruit and vegetable crops in the UK provide just over half of the vegetables and under 20% of the fruit we eat from a very small area of land – equivalent to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/horticulture-statistics-2017">23m² per person</a>.</p>
<p>Recent research carried out in Sheffield found that there was the equivalent of approximately 97m² per person in the city that could potentially be used for growing fruit and vegetables. That’s enough land to feed <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">over 120%</a> of the Sheffield population following a five-a-day diet.</p>
<p>Not all of this land should or could be used for growing food. The pandemic has demonstrated the numerous benefits to health and wellbeing of providing people with <a href="https://theconversation.com/parks-and-green-spaces-are-important-for-our-mental-health-but-we-need-to-make-sure-that-everyone-can-benefit-142322">green spaces</a>. But if just 10% of this available land was used for growing fruit and vegetables, when combined with existing allotments in Sheffield, there would be enough growing space to feed 15% of the population five portions of fruit and veg a day. This would be a big increase on the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">estimated 3%</a> of Sheffield’s population currently fed on five a day from urban allotments.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An array of root vegetables" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Food can be grown with little space or light using techniques like hydroponics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/loopzilla/3887270369">Loopzilla/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>What’s more, growing food in cities doesn’t have to be confined to green spaces. Technological advancements in soil-free growing, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-urban-farmers-are-learning-to-grow-food-without-soil-or-natural-light-88720">hydroponics systems</a>, allow people to grow produce on rooftops in cities or in disused buildings without natural light.</p>
<p>Expanding fruit and vegetable production in cities could also reduce pressure on high quality agricultural land typically used to grow crops, freeing up more of it for <a href="https://theconversation.com/rewilding-four-tips-to-let-nature-thrive-157441">rewilding</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk-land-now-stores-7-more-carbon-than-300-years-ago-what-that-means-for-the-environment-158100">carbon storage</a>.</p>
<h2>Community spirit</h2>
<p>Shifting fruit and vegetable production into cities also offers a cultural challenge around how to encourage more urban dwellers to grow their own food: which means understanding the barriers that put people off. </p>
<p>At Sheffield’s <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sustainable-food">Institute for Sustainable Food</a>, we’re calling on the government to do more to engage urban communities with growing through funding community and school gardens, allotments and <a href="https://dominiquebernier.medium.com/new-technologies-for-hyperlocal-food-doing-more-and-better-with-less-48bd3df08768">hyperlocal farms</a> focused on very specific areas. This could result in a patchwork of food growing regions across cities that, in time, become an integral part of the UK food system. </p>
<p>If this comes to fruition, we can expect to see health and wellbeing benefits across the board – not just thanks to more nutritious diets, but also because of the dramatic improvements in <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/768979/A_guide_to_community-centred_approaches_for_health_and_wellbeing__full_report_.pdf">wellbeing</a> that belonging to an active community can bring.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173943/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jill Edmondson receives funding from EPSRC and BBSRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Caton receives funding from UKRI: BBSRC, GCRF. </span></em></p>Helping more city-dwellers to grow their own fruit and veg could improve health, wellbeing and food security for growing populations.Jill Edmondson, Research Fellow in Environmental Change, University of SheffieldSamantha Caton, Senior Lecturer in Public Health, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1687102021-09-29T11:02:22Z2021-09-29T11:02:22ZChildren who eat more fruits and vegetables have better mental health – new study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423775/original/file-20210929-16-1fegcfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=45%2C0%2C5068%2C3345&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Primary and secondary school students who ate five servings of fruit or veg daily had better mental wellbeing.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/primary-school-kids-eat-lunch-cafeteria-432895708">Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health">10%-20% of adolescents</a> globally suffer from a mental health condition, such as anxiety or depression, according to the World Health Organization. It’s also been shown that half of all mental health conditions <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health">start by age 14</a>. Given how important and formative adolescence is in a person’s life, finding ways of protecting or improving mental wellbeing in children and young people is extremely important.</p>
<p>We already know how valuable good nutrition and diet are for physical health – which is why experts recommend we aim for five servings of fruits and vegetables a day (“<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/food-facts/five-a-day">five-a-day</a>”). More recently research has also started to suggest that nutrition could influence mental health. While more research is still needed in this area, our <a href="https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/early/2021/08/27/bmjnph-2020-000205">recent study found</a> found that eating a more nutritious diet, rich in fruit and vegetables, and having healthier breakfasts and lunch habits were associated with better mental wellbeing in children. </p>
<p>To conduct our study, we used data from the Norfolk Children and Young People Health and Wellbeing Survey. This collected data on mental wellbeing and different things that impact it – such as socioeconomic status and age – from children at over 50 schools in Norfolk. This allowed us to investigate the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption and meal choices (such as what students ate for breakfast or lunch) with mental wellbeing in this age group. </p>
<p>Our analyses looked at 1,253 <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02667363.2015.1008409">primary school pupils</a> aged 8-11 years and 7,570 <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/platform/wemwbs/">secondary school pupils</a> aged 12-18 years. Using different questionnaires for the two groups, we assessed their mental wellbeing by asking them them to score how often they had the feelings described in statements such as “I’ve been feeling good about myself” or “I’ve been feeling loved”. The scores for each statement were added together to give a total score. The higher this total score is, the greater a child’s mental wellbeing.</p>
<p>We also asked students questions on their age, gender, health, living situation and adverse experiences (such as being bullied, or experiencing arguing or violence at home) alongside questions about what kinds of foods they typically ate. This was important so that instead of investigating nutrition and wellbeing on their own, we were able to take into account other factors that can impact a person’s wellbeing score. By doing this, we were able to show that the link between a healthier diet and better mental wellbeing still existed even after taking all these other factors into account.</p>
<h2>Nutritious meals</h2>
<p>In the secondary school group, higher fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with higher mental wellbeing scores – around 8% higher for those who ate five servings daily compared to those who ate none.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Teenage students in black uniforms queue to be served their school lunch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A healthy breakfast and lunch were also important for mental wellbeing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teenage-students-being-served-meal-school-778344325">Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We also found that the wellbeing score varied depending on what type of breakfast or lunch participants ate. Compared to secondary school children who ate a conventional breakfast (such as cereal, toast or a cooked breakfast, like eggs), those who didn’t eat any breakfast had an almost 6% lower mental wellbeing score. Those who consumed only an energy drink for breakfast had an almost 7% lower wellbeing score. </p>
<p>Scores were similarly low for those who didn’t eat lunch compared to those who did. These associations were also similar in primary school children.</p>
<p>Our research also revealed that, on average, in a class of 30 secondary school children, four would have nothing to eat or drink before school, and three had nothing to eat or drink for lunch. We also found that only 25% of secondary school children ate five or more fruits and vegetables a day – and one in ten ate none. </p>
<p>These statistics would be concerning even without the link we have found with mental health, as poor nutrition is likely to impact on <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jhn.12407">school performance</a> as well as <a href="https://apps.who.int/nutrition/topics/growth_and_development/en/index.html">growth and development</a>. While more primary school children ate breakfast and lunch, there was similarly poor fruit and vegetable intake. </p>
<p>To put our findings into perspective, having no breakfast or lunch was associated with a similarly detrimental effect on mental wellbeing as children witnessing regular arguing or violence at home. But as our study was observational, it’s difficult for us to prove the cause of poor mental wellbeing until trials are done to explore these links, fully understand why they exist, and really be certain whether better nutrition will improve mental wellbeing in children. </p>
<p>Our findings show that good quality nutrition needs to be available to all children and young people to improve mental wellbeing and help them reach their full potential. To do this, we could encourage more funding for breakfast clubs, make sure that all children eligible for <a href="https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals">free school meals</a> use them, and that these meals contain at least two portions of fruits or vegetables. To achieve this, these approaches need to be supported by school policies and public health strategies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168710/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ailsa Welch received funding from UEA Health and Social Care Partners ( on behalf of the members of the Childhood Wellbeing group of the UEA Health and Social Care Partners) for Dr Richard Hayhoe to perform the statistical analysis and draft the publication on which this article is based.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard PG Hayhoe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One in ten secondary school students didn’t eat a single serving of fruits or vegetables daily.Ailsa Welch, Professor of Nutritional Epidemiology, University of East AngliaRichard PG Hayhoe, Senior Lecturer in Public Health, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1636462021-07-10T21:32:13Z2021-07-10T21:32:13ZSwap shapes for rice crackers, chips for popcorn… parents can improve their kids’ diet with these healthier lunchbox options<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410275/original/file-20210708-27-qm1z4x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/healthy-lunch-boxes-sandwich-fresh-vegetables-623487920">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601775">Four in five</a> primary school students eat a packed lunch every day, costing parents around <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/25256">A$20 a week</a>. That’s almost <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/schools/latest-release">10 million</a> lunchboxes across Australia every week. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/">nine in ten</a> of these contain so-called “<a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/discretionary-food-and-drink-choices">discretionary foods</a>” such as cake, chips, muesli bars and fruit juice. These foods are not necessary for a healthy diet, and are often high in saturated fat, sugar and salt, and low in fibre. <a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019003379">40%</a> of energy in an average lunchbox comes from these discretionary foods.</p>
<p>Busy parents need to find replacements for these discretionary foods, which are not only healthy, but also easy, cheap and tasty. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/25256">Our research</a> shows parents can make healthier swaps, without costing them more. </p>
<h2>What children should be eating</h2>
<p>Healthy lunchboxes can play a big role in positively influencing students <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252059240_What_is_the_relationship_between_child_nutrition_and_school_outcomes">behaviour in the classroom</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252059240_What_is_the_relationship_between_child_nutrition_and_school_outcomes">academic achievement</a>, <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/43923">health</a> and <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/259349/WHO-NMH-PND-ECHO-17.1-eng.pdf">weight</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1412201203866365956"}"></div></p>
<p>Generally children should have a <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/The%20Guidelines/n55f_children_brochure.pdf">variety of foods</a> from the five core food groups: vegetables and legumes; fruit; grain foods (mostly wholegrain and those high in fibre); lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds; milk, yoghurt and cheese (or alternatives).</p>
<p>Depending on their age and sex, children should consume somewhere between <a href="https://www.nrv.gov.au/dietary-energy">4,500-7,000</a> kilojoules per day. But it’s also important <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/The%20Guidelines/n55f_children_brochure.pdf">where</a> they get that energy from. It’s <a href="https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/gug-family-toc%7Egug-family-guidelines">recommended</a> children limit their intake of saturated fat, salt and added sugar.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-food-should-my-child-be-eating-and-how-can-i-get-them-to-eat-more-healthily-130470">How much food should my child be eating? And how can I get them to eat more healthily?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A healthy lunchbox doesn’t need to be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg98pAJ1AkE&feature=emb_logo">fancy</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTu9NEnhLuQ">expensive</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJppW7w7yL0">time consuming</a>. </p>
<p>A healthy recess would mean, for instance, children eating one serving of fruit or vegetables, some <a href="https://www.goodforkids.nsw.gov.au/primary-schools/swap-it/packing-an-everyday-lunchbox/">yoghurt and a few rice crackers</a>. At lunch, children could eat a simple sandwich, wrap or roll, or leftovers made from <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/The%20Guidelines/n55f_children_brochure.pdf">core food group</a> ingredients such as veggie-loaded wholegrain pasta. </p>
<h2>How to replace junk foods with healthy ones</h2>
<p>Parents have told us they <a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.2196/25256">want</a> convenient and cheap foods to pack, that their children want to eat. So, we developed a healthy lunchbox program called <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/25256">SWAP IT</a>. In this program, we provide simple ideas for swapping unhealthy foods kids might like to healthier ones comparable on cost, taste, texture and preparation time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-healthy-diet-is-cheaper-than-junk-food-but-a-good-diet-is-still-too-expensive-for-some-57873">A healthy diet is cheaper than junk food but a good diet is still too expensive for some</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>For instance, you could swap</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Shapes for rice crackers. This will mean 159 less kJ, 77% less saturated fat and 39% less sodium</p></li>
<li><p>chips for popcorn. This is 176 less kJ, 57% less saturated fat, 56% less sodium</p></li>
<li><p>cake for pikelets means 464 less kJ and 63% less sugar.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Perhaps one of easiest things you could do is to try ensure your kids stick to drinking water. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A picture showing some of the swaps outlined above." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410282/original/file-20210708-31292-tpm004.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Calculations are made based on the serving sizes. (Shapes 25g, rice crackers 20g, Smith chips 19g, popcorn 13g, slice of cake 75g, 3 pikelets 75g)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our research found <a href="https://www.goodforkids.nsw.gov.au/primary-schools/swap-it/tips/">SWAP IT</a> supported parents and students to reduce energy from discretionary foods by 600kJ per week. Research suggests a small reduction of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/25256">600kJ</a> per week is enough to meaningfully impact population levels of obesity. </p>
<h2>It can be rolled out to schools</h2>
<p>Parents <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/kids/mum-receives-warning-note-from-school-over-bad-food-in-lunch-box/news-story/7d2e9af2d84bb403bab7155746c3939e">are sometimes blamed</a> for unhealthy lunchboxes. </p>
<p>But a barrage of unhealthy foods are <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-its-not-just-a-lack-of-control-that-makes-australians-overweight-heres-whats-driving-our-unhealthy-food-habits-162512">promoted</a> to parents and children, often disguised as healthy choices. Parents and children see as many as <a href="https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/news/food-advertising-endangering-kids-health/">ten junk food adverts</a> per hour. And more than half of parents report their child’s “<a href="https://theconversation.com/give-in-to-pester-power-at-the-supermarket-checkout-youre-not-alone-11205">pester power</a>” influences what they pack in their lunchbox.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/give-in-to-pester-power-at-the-supermarket-checkout-youre-not-alone-11205">Give in to pester power at the supermarket checkout? You're not alone</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Parents <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/25256">told us</a> they wanted easy to access information when they were in the supermarket. So we got parents to sign up to SWAP IT via their school’s usual <a href="https://www.moqproducts.com.au/skoolbag/">communication</a> <a href="https://www.flexischools.com.au/">app</a>.
Around <a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1002/hpja.57">two-thirds</a> of primary schools used such apps. </p>
<p>We prompted parents with swap ideas each week by sending push notifications to their phones. We <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-019-0812-7">found 84%</a> of parents liked having the messages sent directly to their phones.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two phones side by side. The first phone shows a SWAP IT notification. The second phone shows an example of a swap from muffin bites to scones." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409784/original/file-20210706-23-5c0cju.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Example notification from the SWAP IT school lunchbox program.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research shows <a href="https://www.dx.doi.org/10.1002/hpja.57">four in five</a> primary school principals agree it is a school’s role to support parents to pack healthy lunchboxes. We found SWAP IT could be rolled-out to schools through their communication apps at a cost of <a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.2196/25256">less</a> than <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-019-0812-7">A$1,800</a> per school. </p>
<p>Investment in promoting a healthy diet is <a href="https://www.phaa.net.au/documents/item/2870">cost-effective</a>, as less people end up in hospital and productivity is improved.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pg98pAJ1AkE?wmode=transparent&start=59" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Lunchbox swap ideas for Monday to Friday that are cheap, simple, healthy and tasty.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Schools across Australia can <a href="https://www.goodforkids.nsw.gov.au/primary-schools/swap-it/express-your-interest/">register their interest</a> in the SWAP IT program. In the future, schools could choose to sign up to SWAP IT, in a similar way to signing up to other programs such as <a href="https://www.crunchandsip.com.au/">Crunch & Sip</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163646/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew 'Tepi' Mclaughlin is affiliated with the International Society for Physical Activity and Health, the Australasian Society for Physical Activity and Newcastle Cycleways Movement.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Wolfenden receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, The NIB Foundation and The Heart Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Sutherland receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council, NSW Ministry of Health. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Brown and Jannah Jones do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We developed a healthy lunchbox program. Here, we provide parents with ideas for swapping unhealthy foods kids might like to healthier ones comparable on cost, taste, texture and preparation time.Matthew Mclaughlin, PhD Candidate, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of NewcastleAlison Brown, PhD Candidate, University of NewcastleJannah Jones, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of NewcastleLuke Wolfenden, Professor (Public Health), University of NewcastleRachel Sutherland, Conjoint Lecturer, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1504472020-11-24T23:48:05Z2020-11-24T23:48:05ZNZ needs a plan to help migrant workers pick fruit and veg, or prices will soar and farms go bust<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371161/original/file-20201124-17-m0z4j8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C8%2C5937%2C3964&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID border restrictions might be saving lives but they’re also <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/123353079/frustration-and-desperation-as-harvest-workers-struggle-to-enter-nz">threatening the livelihoods</a> of New Zealand farmers, unless a way can be found to allow Pacific Island seasonal workers to return and pick the crops.</p>
<p>Since its inception in 2007, the Recognised Seasonal Employer (<a href="https://www.picknz.co.nz/resources/rse/">RSE</a>) scheme has enabled thousands of Pacific workers to be employed on New Zealand’s farms and orchards for around four months each year. </p>
<p>But not this year, due to the stringent border controls. Workers already in New Zealand when the borders closed have since been repatriated, leaving a severe workforce shortage.</p>
<p>As we head into <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/aussie-govt-attempts-to-pinch-kiwi-seasonal-workers-offering-2000-to-work-in-australia/OVROUBW3SYKPBLUWYHBJ5LRIKQ/">peak harvest time</a>, growers can only watch and wait as <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/122741361/this-just-cannot-happen-95-billion-at-risk-as-horticulture-sector-struggles-to-fill-25anhour-jobs">NZ$9.5 billion worth</a> of fruit and vegetables go unpicked and risk rotting in place.</p>
<p>If this summer’s crops quite literally go to the birds, then farms may go under, families will suffer and consumers will see the price of seasonal produce <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/waikato-news/news/strawberries-will-be-left-in-the-fields-if-more-pickers-cant-be-found/ZW5CGYD74J2NXJBV6JAIZLV26E/">skyrocket</a>. The recent <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018772730/slim-pickings-reporting-the-shortage-of-labour-for-fruit-and-veges">NZ$30 a kg price</a> of courgettes — more than triple the normal price — was a warning.</p>
<p>Aside from allowing migrant workers to return safely, the other often proposed solution is to encourage newly unemployed Kiwi job seekers to do the work. Both present challenges.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="expensive courgettes in a supermarket" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371165/original/file-20201124-23-ayyfr9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Market signals: the price of courgettes tripled due to the cost of picking during a critical labour shortage.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The problems with picking</h2>
<p>Leading growers say the arduous nature of the work makes it difficult to attract and retain domestic workers — even in an economic recession.</p>
<p>Too often billed as “unskilled”, crop picking is actually <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/aussie-govt-attempts-to-pinch-kiwi-seasonal-workers-offering-2000-to-work-in-australia/OVROUBW3SYKPBLUWYHBJ5LRIKQ/">highly specialised</a> work. Growers invest time and money training seasonal workers to ensure their crops are harvested correctly and handled with the care needed to command good prices.</p>
<p>Such investments show the relationship between many growers and pickers is more than simply transactional. For many, it’s an <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/eyewitness/audio/2018726025/rse-scheme-transformed-the-new-zealand-fruit-growing-industry">ongoing, personal and professional engagement</a> that is renewed annually. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/courageous-investment-means-innovation-stays-in-nz-not-sold-off-overseas-150381">'Courageous' investment means innovation stays in NZ, not sold off overseas</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>The average domestic worker — particularly those who have never considered crop picking — may simply not have the skills or availability required for the job.</p>
<p>As for the money, farm workers <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/kiwi-fruit-pickers-have-simple-message-growers-cry-labour-pay-us-more">receive</a> a minimum wage (NZ$18.90 an hour) base rate, plus holiday pay. If they want to earn more, labourers can work more hours or pick more fruit.</p>
<p>Figures from the industry show the average pay over the past season ranged from <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/122835805/is-pay-the-problem-how-much-indemand-orchard-workers-really-earn">NZ$21.64 to NZ$27.36</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1322004659981021186"}"></div></p>
<h2>Low pay is an issue</h2>
<p>Ironically, the RSE scheme itself is at least partially to blame for the low rates of pay. The introduction of the scheme capped most jobs in the agriculture and horticulture sectors at <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/kiwi-fruit-pickers-have-simple-message-growers-cry-labour-pay-us-more">NZ$20 an hour</a>. </p>
<p>While this is considered a relatively high rate for migrant workers, domestic workers may not view it as a sustainable income. </p>
<p>However, some growers believe paying more may not necessarily generate greater interest from domestic workers. One Waikato berry farm owner who has been working with the Ministry of Social Development to hire domestic workers has <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/123179398/strawberry-farm-anticipates-losing-onethird-of-its-crops-due-to-lack-of-pickers-">said</a> people “weren’t applying”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pacific-tourism-is-desperate-for-a-vaccine-and-travel-freedoms-but-the-industry-must-learn-from-this-crisis-150722">Pacific tourism is desperate for a vaccine and travel freedoms, but the industry must learn from this crisis</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<p>Logistics are also a challenge for many <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/courgettes-rot-for-a-lack-of-pickers/MARAN5P7PMFR25L37U5ZNSDGDM/">unemployed domestic workers</a>. Rural, seasonal work may be geographically distant or simply not realistic as a solution to long-term unemployment. </p>
<p>The disruptive nature of the job also creates problems with childcare and other domestic responsibilities, as well as maintaining a work-life balance. Those issues are less pressing for migrant workers who arrive with the sole purpose of earning, and whose families and networks are prepared for their absence.</p>
<h2>Towards a migrant solution</h2>
<p>Though the government has begun investigating a possible trans-Pacific travel bubble, it may well be months before that becomes a reality. </p>
<p>Given the urgency of the situation, one solution lies in restructuring the current government-run Managed Isolation and Quarantine (<a href="https://www.miq.govt.nz/">MIQ</a>) system — perhaps using an adapted public-private partnership (<a href="https://infracom.govt.nz/major-projects/public-private-partnerships/">PPP</a>) model.</p>
<p>These MIQ facilities could be dedicated to accommodating Pacific Island migrant workers employed under the RSE scheme. The facilities would be funded and resourced privately by the agricultural industry, in strict compliance with Ministry of Health requirements. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-reasons-why-banishing-backpackers-and-targeting-wealthy-tourists-would-be-a-mistake-for-nz-150639">5 reasons why banishing backpackers and targeting wealthy tourists would be a mistake for NZ</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One leading grower who <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/covid-19-border-restrictions-putting-pressure-nzs-largest-strawberry-producer">sees the benefit</a> of the idea is Francie Perry of Perry’s Berries, New Zealand’s largest strawberry grower:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’ve got a facility that would be suitable for quarantine and we could quarantine 71 people in it and that would get us through.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It’s commendable the government is encouraging the industry to find ways around its reliance on offshore workers and offer greater incentives to attract and retain Kiwi employees. </p>
<p>Collaborating to establish an <a href="https://www.primaryito.ac.nz/grow-your-career/free-apprenticeships-and-training/">apprenticeship programme</a> to encourage young New Zealanders to consider employment in our horticulture and agriculture sectors makes sense.</p>
<p>But this is a long-term vision, not a solution to the immediate crisis. </p>
<p>In the interim, a public-private approach to managed quarantine offers a viable solution that will benefit both the industry and the workers desperate to return to our fields, farms and orchards. The time to act is now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Swati Nagar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pandemic border restrictions are keeping seasonal crop pickers from the Pacific out of New Zealand. Would adapting the quarantine system help?Swati Nagar, Lecturer, International Business, Strategy and Entrepreneurship, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1451252020-08-28T13:29:38Z2020-08-28T13:29:38ZVitamin C could help older adults retain muscle mass – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355325/original/file-20200828-22-98ep13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C6%2C4354%2C2896&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Muscle mass is important for maintaining health and being active during older age. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/senior-couple-workout-gym-people-lift-642402643">Liderina/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As we get older, our skeletal muscle mass, strength and power to move gradually decline, which may lead to a condition called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afy169">sarcopenia</a>. Sarcopenia affects more than <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afq034">50 million people</a> over the age of 50 years worldwide, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665119001150">contributes to</a> type 2 diabetes, frailty, physical disability, loss of independence and poor quality of life. So it’s an important condition to prevent during ageing to minimise both personal and societal costs.</p>
<p>Currently there are limited solutions for treating sarcopenia, so early intervention, before symptoms become too severe, is preferable. Most research has focused on the effect of <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1093%2Fadvances%2Fnmy065">increasing protein intake</a> to prevent or treat sarcopenia. </p>
<p>But very few studies have actually investigated the importance of dietary vitamin C with loss of skeletal muscle mass and function in middle and older age. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxaa221">Our new paper</a> shows that the more dietary vitamin C middle-aged and older adults consume, the greater their skeletal muscle mass.</p>
<p>Vitamin C is already known to play an important role in bone health, but may also help us maintain strong muscles. This vitamin is only found in vegetables, potatoes and fruits. </p>
<p>People who don’t consume enough of these in their diet are at risk of vitamin C deficiency, which may cause weakness, tiredness and fragile bones. In extreme cases, it may lead to scurvy. But before this occurs, insufficient dietary vitamin C intake may have other effects on health, including our muscles.</p>
<p>Around <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1987.tb23776.x">two-thirds</a> of our body’s total vitamin C is found in skeletal muscle. It’s used for making <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/54.6.1147s">carnitine</a>, a crucial substance that provides energy for muscles to function, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.1992.tb01271.x">collagen</a>, which is an essential structural component of muscle. </p>
<p>In addition, vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that can help to <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1155%2F2012%2F316943">counteract free radical</a> molecules, which increase when we age. Unopposed, these free radicals can contribute to the destruction of muscle cells.</p>
<h2>Skeletal muscle mass</h2>
<p>Our study looked at data collected from over 13,000 men and women in the <a href="https://www.epic-norfolk.org.uk">European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Norfolk cohort</a>, aged 42-82 years. We used <a href="https://tanita.eu/bioelectrical-impedance-analysis/">bioelectrical impedance analysis</a> – which sends small electrical signals through the body to calculate water and fat percentage – to estimate the proportion of skeletal muscle in the body. </p>
<p>Participants also completed a diary of everything they ate and drank over seven days so we could accurately calculate their intake of dietary vitamin C. We grouped people according to their intake of vitamin C, ranging from low to high. </p>
<p>Vitamin C was also measured directly in their blood, providing results less susceptible to potential error in reporting diet. This allowed us to classify people according to whether they had <a href="https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2013.3418">sufficient vitamin C intake</a>.</p>
<p>Our statistical analysis took into consideration other important factors, including participant’s physical activity, protein and energy intake, which might also have effects on skeletal muscle mass.</p>
<p>We found that the people in our study who consumed the highest amount of vitamin C in their diet had the greatest muscle mass. The biggest difference was seen in women: those women in the highest category of vitamin C consumption had muscle mass 3% greater than those in the lowest category. </p>
<p>These differences are likely to be clinically relevant, especially given that most people are estimated to lose <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2012.00260">0.5% to 1%</a> of muscle mass every year after age 50.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Fruits and vegetables containing vitamin C." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355326/original/file-20200828-23-17lk1jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355326/original/file-20200828-23-17lk1jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355326/original/file-20200828-23-17lk1jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355326/original/file-20200828-23-17lk1jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355326/original/file-20200828-23-17lk1jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355326/original/file-20200828-23-17lk1jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355326/original/file-20200828-23-17lk1jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries, citrus fruits, and broccoli, are all good sources of vitamin C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fresh-fruits-vegetables-containing-vitamin-c-731190562">ratmaner/ Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A similar picture was seen for both under- and over-65s, indicating vitamin C is likely to be important in both middle and older age. The findings were also supported by the fact that those with sufficient levels of blood vitamin C had greater muscle mass than those in the insufficient category.</p>
<p>This study complements the findings from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-019-00641-x">our previous work</a> in young and older women. There we found that women who ate more vitamin C not only had more muscle mass but also had much better leg function, meaning they were stronger. Our new findings in older age groups and men add more certainty that vitamin C is important for maintaining muscle as we age in both young and older people. </p>
<p>Data shows that <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-diet-and-nutrition-survey">more than 80%</a> of over-75s in the UK don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables daily. Our study also found nearly 60% of men and 50% of women who participated were eating insufficient vitamin C, according to recommendations. The shortfall in intakes of fruit and vegetables could therefore have implications for muscle health at a population level. </p>
<p>Our new findings build on the concept that optimal nutrition may help reduce the decline in muscle. This provides further emphasis and encouragement for people of all ages to follow the healthy eating guidelines and eat a wide variety of vegetables and fruits each day, not only for general health but to protect their muscles.</p>
<p>As vitamin C is readily available in vegetables and fruits, eating more should be relatively straightforward and have benefits for skeletal muscle health in people of all ages. But where improving diet is not possible, supplements may provide a suitable alternative.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145125/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The vitamin could also protect against sarcopenia, which affects more than 50 million people globally.Ailsa Welch, Professor of Nutritional Epidemiology, University of East AngliaRichard PG Hayhoe, Senior Research Associate in Public Health Nutrition, University of East AngliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1353592020-05-25T20:09:10Z2020-05-25T20:09:10ZIf you took to growing veggies in the coronavirus pandemic, then keep it up when lockdown ends<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336656/original/file-20200521-102628-qk1nm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=56%2C0%2C6240%2C3708&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lynda Disher/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic produced a run on the things people need to produce their own food at home, including <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-24/coronavirus-panic-buying-of-edible-plants-at-nurseries/12082988">vegetable seedlings, seeds</a> and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/scramble-for-backyard-chooks-follows-egg-panic-buying-20200401-p54g28.html">chooks</a>.</p>
<p>This turn to self-provisioning was prompted in part by the high price rises for produce – including <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/coronavirus/cauliflower-and-broccoli-among-healthy-vegetables-whose-prices-have-skyrocketed-during-coronavirus-pandemic-ng-b881501930z">A$10 cauliflowers and broccoli for A$13 a kilo</a> – and empty <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/mar/27/ive-never-seen-it-like-this-why-vegetables-are-so-expensive-in-australia-at-the-moment">veggie shelves in some supermarkets</a>.</p>
<p>As well as <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/bunnings-diy-garden-shopping-frenzy-as-virus-lockdown-takes-hold/news-story/413857a8c40b44af21eb90a1f88a594f">hitting the garden centres</a> people looked online for information on growing food. Google searches for “<a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=how%20to%20grow%20vegetables">how to grow vegetables</a>” hit an all-time worldwide high in April. Hobart outfit Good Life Permaculture’s video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUqkZLSOdm0">Crisis Gardening - Fresh Food Fast</a> racked up over 80,000 views in a month. Facebook kitchen garden groups, such as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SAKGF/videos/vb.107400965969813/2830266200384624/?type=3&theater">Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation</a>, sought to share information and inspiration.</p>
<h2>The good life</h2>
<p>Given the many benefits of productive gardening, this interest in increased self-sufficiency was an intelligent response to the pandemic situation.</p>
<p>Experienced gardeners can produce enough fruit and vegetables year-round to supply two people from <a href="https://www.katlavers.com/the-plummery/">a small suburban backyard</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335516301401" title="Gardening is beneficial for health: A meta-analysis">Productive gardening improves health</a> by providing contact with nature, physical activity and a healthier diet. Contact with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6780873/" title="Does Soil Contribute to the Human Gut Microbiome?">good soil bacteria</a> also has positive health effects. </p>
<hr>
<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/great-time-to-try-starting-a-vegetable-garden-135552">Great time to try: starting a vegetable garden</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While Australians have traditionally valued the feeling of independence imparted by a degree of self-sufficiency, psychological benefits arise from the <a href="https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/reclaiming-the-urban-commons">social connectedness encouraged by many forms of productive gardening</a>.</p>
<p>Amid COVID-19, gardeners gathered online and community gardens around the world brought people together through gardening and food. In some areas, community gardens were <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/ontario-community-gardens-essential-1.5545115">declared essential because of their contribution to food security</a>. Although Australian community gardens paused their public programs, most remained open for gardening adhering to social distancing regulations.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329929/original/file-20200423-47826-1iul3x5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329929/original/file-20200423-47826-1iul3x5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329929/original/file-20200423-47826-1iul3x5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329929/original/file-20200423-47826-1iul3x5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329929/original/file-20200423-47826-1iul3x5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329929/original/file-20200423-47826-1iul3x5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329929/original/file-20200423-47826-1iul3x5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Community gardens have an important role to play in food resilience.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrea Gaynor</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>We always dig deep in a crisis</h2>
<p>Vegetable gardening and poultry-keeping often surge in popularity during times of social or economic insecurity, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>These responses are built on an established Australian tradition of home food production, something I have <a href="http://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/key_docs/harvest_of_the_suburbs__andrea_gaynor_with_title_and_content.pdf">researched in depth</a>. </p>
<p>Yet history tells us it’s not easy to rapidly increase self-provisioning in times of crisis – especially for those in greatest need, such as unemployed people.</p>
<p>This is another reason why you should plant a vegetable garden (or keep your current one going) even after the lockdown ends, <a href="https://www.sustain.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Urban-Agriculture-Manifesto-2020-1.pdf">as part of a broader suite of reforms</a> needed to make our food systems more fair and resilient.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cant-go-outside-even-seeing-nature-on-a-screen-can-improve-your-mood-135320">Can't go outside? Even seeing nature on a screen can improve your mood</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the second world war, for example, Australian food and agricultural supply chains were disrupted. In 1942-3, as the theatres of war expanded and shortages loomed, the YWCA organised women into “<a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/homefront/victory_gardens">garden armies</a>” to grow vegetables and the federal government launched campaigns encouraging home food production. </p>
<p>Community-based food production expanded, but it was not possible for everyone, and obstacles emerged. In Australia, there were disruptions in the supply of seeds, fertiliser and even rubber for garden hoses. In London, resourceful gardeners scraped pigeon droppings from buildings to feed their victory gardens. </p>
<p>Another problem was the lack of gardening and poultry-keeping skills and knowledge. The Australian government’s efforts to provide good gardening advice were thwarted by local shortages and weather conditions. Their advertisements encouraging experienced gardeners to help neighbours may have been more effective. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334896/original/file-20200514-167768-brf3j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334896/original/file-20200514-167768-brf3j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334896/original/file-20200514-167768-brf3j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1046&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334896/original/file-20200514-167768-brf3j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1046&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334896/original/file-20200514-167768-brf3j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1046&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334896/original/file-20200514-167768-brf3j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1314&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334896/original/file-20200514-167768-brf3j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334896/original/file-20200514-167768-brf3j3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1314&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian government ‘Grow Your Own’ campaign advertising, 1943.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">National Archives of Australia</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Home food production has also increased during times of economic distress. During the <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/great-depression">Great Depression</a> in the 1920s and 1930s, a health inspector in the inner suburbs of Melbourne reported, with satisfaction, that horse manure was no longer accumulating:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… being very much in demand by the many unemployed who now grow their own vegetables.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The high inflation and unemployment of the 1970s – as well as the oil shocks that saw steep increases in fuel prices – saw more people take up productive gardening as a low-cost recreation and buffer against high food prices.</p>
<p>The urge to grow your own in a crisis is a strong one, but better preparation is needed for it to be an equitable and effective response.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329926/original/file-20200423-47804-pldop7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329926/original/file-20200423-47804-pldop7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329926/original/file-20200423-47804-pldop7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329926/original/file-20200423-47804-pldop7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329926/original/file-20200423-47804-pldop7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329926/original/file-20200423-47804-pldop7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329926/original/file-20200423-47804-pldop7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329926/original/file-20200423-47804-pldop7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How to grow your own vegetables… as long as you like endive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrea Gaynor</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Beyond the pandemic</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-home-gardening-explosion-fruits-vegetables-lockdown/3cf0476b-9fe0-432e-b5c9-d37b9390a12f">empty shelves at nurseries and seed suppliers</a> seen earlier this year tell us we were again insufficiently prepared to rapidly scale up productive home gardening.</p>
<p>We need to develop more robust local food systems, including opportunities for people to develop and share food production skills.</p>
<p>These could build on established programs, such as western Melbourne’s <a href="https://mysmartgarden.org.au/">My Smart Garden</a>. Particularly in built-up urban areas, provision of safe, accessible, free or low-cost gardening spaces would enable everyone to participate.</p>
<p>More city farms with livestock, large-scale composting and seed saving, can increase local supplies of garden inputs and buffer against external disruption. </p>
<p>Like other crises before it, COVID-19 has exposed vulnerabilities in the systems that supply most Australians with our basic needs. While we can’t grow toilet paper or hand sanitiser, there is a role for productive gardens and small-scale animal-keeping in making food systems resilient, sustainable and equitable.</p>
<p>Self-provisioning doesn’t replace the need for social welfare and wider food system reform. But it can provide a bit of insurance against crises, as well as many everyday benefits.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/supermarket-shelves-stripped-bare-history-can-teach-us-to-make-do-with-food-135304">Supermarket shelves stripped bare? History can teach us to 'make do' with food</a>
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</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135359/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Gaynor receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>A gardening supply shortage during the pandemic showed our ill-preparedness to grow our own food. Permanent backyard veggie gardens can help us survive the next crisis, and provide everyday benefits.Andrea Gaynor, Associate Professor of History, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1317612020-02-17T18:55:41Z2020-02-17T18:55:41Z65,000-year-old plant remains show the earliest Australians spent plenty of time cooking<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315662/original/file-20200217-11044-1bvette.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C221%2C2576%2C1501&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Researchers May Nango, Djaykuk Djandjomerr and S. Anna Florin collecting plants in Kakadu National Park. Reproduced with permission of Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elspeth Hayes</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s first people ate a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and other plant foods, many of which would have taken considerable time and knowledge to prepare, according to our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14723-0">analysis</a> of charred plant remains from a site dating back to 65,000 years ago.</p>
<p>We already know the earliest Aboriginal Australians arrived <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22968">at least 65,000 years ago</a>, after voyaging across Island Southeast Asia into the prehistoric supercontinent of Sahul, covering modern mainland Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. </p>
<p>But while the timing of this journey is becoming relatively clear, we know comparatively little about the people who made it, including their culture, technology, diet, and how they managed to thrive in these new landscapes.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/buried-tools-and-pigments-tell-a-new-history-of-humans-in-australia-for-65-000-years-81021">Buried tools and pigments tell a new history of humans in Australia for 65,000 years</a>
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<p>Our research, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14723-0">published today in Nature Communications</a>, describes charred plant remains found at the archaeological site of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Madjedbebe">Madjedbebe</a>, a sandstone rock shelter on Mirarr country in western Arnhem Land. It provides the earliest evidence for plant foods consumed by humans outside of Africa and the Middle East and tells an important story about the diet of the earliest known Aboriginal people in Australia.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315642/original/file-20200217-10980-ljx1ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315642/original/file-20200217-10980-ljx1ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315642/original/file-20200217-10980-ljx1ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315642/original/file-20200217-10980-ljx1ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315642/original/file-20200217-10980-ljx1ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315642/original/file-20200217-10980-ljx1ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315642/original/file-20200217-10980-ljx1ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315642/original/file-20200217-10980-ljx1ag.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Madjedbebe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Abbott</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is the evidence?</h2>
<p>While animal bones do not survive in the earliest levels of Madjedbebe, remarkably, plant remains do survive as a result of charring in ancient cooking hearths. </p>
<p>We recovered these remains using a simple yet effective method. By immersing the samples in water, the light charcoal pieces float and separate easily from the heavier sandy sediment in which they are buried. </p>
<p>Among the charred plant remains are fruit pips, nutshells, peelings and fibrous parts from tubers, and fragments of palm stem. These are the discarded leftovers of meals cooked and shared at the rockshelter tens of thousands of years ago.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315644/original/file-20200217-11023-jlc79t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315644/original/file-20200217-11023-jlc79t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315644/original/file-20200217-11023-jlc79t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315644/original/file-20200217-11023-jlc79t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315644/original/file-20200217-11023-jlc79t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315644/original/file-20200217-11023-jlc79t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315644/original/file-20200217-11023-jlc79t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315644/original/file-20200217-11023-jlc79t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electron microscope image of a peeling from an aquatic plant’s underground storage organ. Note the ‘eye’ similar to those found in potatoes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">S. Anna Florin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-when-did-australias-human-history-begin-87251">Friday essay: when did Australia’s human history begin?</a>
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</em>
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<p>Today, the Madjedbebe rockshelter and the environments around it are just as culturally and economically significant to the Mirarr people as they were in the deep past. Our research is the result of a partnership with the Mirarr, bringing together Indigenous and scientific knowledge. </p>
<p>With the help of traditional owners and research colleagues, May Nango and Djaykuk Djandjomerr, we identified the modern-day plants that would have been eaten at Madjedbebe, and the cooking techniques needed to make them edible. Some foods, such as fruits, required minimal processing. But others, such as the <em>man-kindjek</em> or <a href="http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Dioscorea+bulbifera">cheeky yam</a>, needed to be cooked, leached and/or pounded before being eaten. Some of these preparation techniques can take up to several days.</p>
<p>We studied the charred plant remains under the microscope, identifying them by matching their features with the modern-day plant specimens. Using this technique we identified several fruits and nuts, including “plums” (<em>Buchanania</em> sp., <em>Persoonia falcata</em>, <em>Terminalia</em> sp.), and canarium (<em>Canarium australianum</em>) and pandanus nuts (<em>Pandanus spiralis</em>); three types of roots and tubers, including an aquatic-growing species; and two types of palm stem.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315646/original/file-20200217-11017-j0twm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315646/original/file-20200217-11017-j0twm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315646/original/file-20200217-11017-j0twm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315646/original/file-20200217-11017-j0twm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315646/original/file-20200217-11017-j0twm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315646/original/file-20200217-11017-j0twm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315646/original/file-20200217-11017-j0twm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315646/original/file-20200217-11017-j0twm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Microscopic structures preserved in the remains of a palm stem.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">S. Anna Florin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What does this tell us about early Aboriginal lifestyles?</h2>
<p>Several of these plant foods would have required processing. This included the peeling and cooking of roots, tubers and palm stems; the pounding of palm pith to separate its edible starch from less-digestible fibres; and the laborious extraction of <a href="https://parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/discover/nature/plants/pandanus/">pandanus</a> kernels from their hard drupes. We could only accomplish the latter feat with the help of an electric power saw, although they were traditionally opened by pounding with a mortar and pestle. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315647/original/file-20200217-11023-3osmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315647/original/file-20200217-11023-3osmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315647/original/file-20200217-11023-3osmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=789&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315647/original/file-20200217-11023-3osmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=789&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315647/original/file-20200217-11023-3osmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=789&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315647/original/file-20200217-11023-3osmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=991&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315647/original/file-20200217-11023-3osmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=991&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315647/original/file-20200217-11023-3osmf7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=991&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plant foods eaten at Madjedbebe included fruits and nuts, underground storage organs, pandanus kernels and palm. Top left: <em>man-dudjmi</em> or green plum; top right: <em>man-mobban</em> or billygoat plum; middle: May Nango and Djaykuk Djandjomerr removing the palm heart from a <em>man-marrabbi</em> or sand palm; bottom left: drupes of the <em>man-belk</em> or pandanus tree; bottom right: <em>karrbarda</em> or long yam. Photos reproduced with permission of Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elspeth Hayes/S. Anna Florin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is also evidence for the further processing of plants, including seed-grinding, left as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22968">microscopic traces on the grinding stones</a> found in the same archaeological layer at the site. This represents the first evidence of seed-grinding outside Africa. </p>
<p>Along with other technology found at the site, such as the oldest known edge-ground axes in the world, it demonstrates the technological innovation of the first Australians. They were investing knowledge and labour into the acquisition of plant starches, fats and proteins, as well as into the production of the technologies required to procure and process them (axes and grinding stones).</p>
<p>These findings predate any other evidence for human diet in this region, including Island Southeast Asia and New Guinea. </p>
<p>It calls into question the theory that humans migrating through Southeast Asia fed themselves with <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23621508?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">as little effort as possible</a>, moving quickly along coastal pathways eating shellfish and other easy-to-catch foods.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/island-hopping-study-shows-the-most-likely-route-the-first-people-took-to-australia-93120">Island-hopping study shows the most likely route the first people took to Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Contrary to this, the plant remains found at Madjedbebe suggest that the first Aboriginal people were skilled foragers, using a range of techniques to eat a diverse range of plant foods, some of which were time-consuming and labour-intensive to eat. </p>
<p>Their ability to adapt to this new Australian setting had little to do with a “least effort” way of life, and everything to do with behavioural flexibility and innovation, drawing on the skills and knowledge that allowed successful migration across Island Southeast Asia and into Sahul. </p>
<p>This required the first Australians to pass their knowledge of plants and cooking techniques down through the generations and apply them to new Australian plant species. Along with the innovation of new technology, this allowed them to get the most out of the Australian environment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131761/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Anna Florin receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Wenner Gren Foundation, the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and the Dan David Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Clarkson receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Fairbairn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Charred plant remains from one of the oldest archaeological sites reveal that the first Australians ate a varied - and sometimes labour-intensive - diet.Anna Florin, PhD candidate, The University of QueenslandAndrew Fairbairn, Professor of Archaeology, The University of QueenslandChris Clarkson, Professor in Archaeology, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1243742019-10-07T12:39:26Z2019-10-07T12:39:26ZGrowing the big one – 6 tips for your own prize-winning tomatoes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295316/original/file-20191002-49356-1v3q5ik.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=37%2C104%2C2678%2C1978&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bigger, bigger, biggest.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/huge-pleated-red-ripe-heirloom-tomato-1179875506">TheOldBarnDoor/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When I answer my office phone as an extension vegetable specialist, from time to time it’s someone asking how they can get recognition for growing a huge tomato, possibly the biggest one ever. When I ask how big a tomato we’re talking about, and the caller says 2 or 2.5 pounds, I have to hold back my laughter and gently explain that that is nowhere even close to a record. </p>
<p>So just how big is big? Growers in various states have set various records – New Jersey was home to a <a href="https://www.njtomato.com/main.htm">6-pound, 2.5-ounce tomato</a>, Oklahoma has boasted a 7-pound, 12-ounce one and Minnesota <a href="https://www.worldrecordacademy.com/nature/heaviest_tomato_Dan_MacCoy_breaks_Guinness_World_Records_record_214064.html">weighed in at 8 pounds, 6 ounces</a>. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Dan Sutherland of Walla Walla, Washington is the current tomato king, having produced a tomato <a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/heaviest-tomato">tipping the scale at 8 pounds, 9 ounces</a> in 2016.</p>
<p>If you take that as a challenge to your own tomato-growing prowess, read on for tips on how to nurture a massive tomato. The secrets are really nothing too obscure. What’s important is checking off as many boxes as possible to optimize the fruit size. <a href="http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/tomato-troubles-common-problems-tomatoes">Each step is attainable</a> for the home gardener, but missing out on certain ones will limit your results.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bHcmVcIJjB0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Dan MacCoy shows off his 8.41-pound tomato in 2014.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Pick a proven pedigree</h2>
<p>Are some varieties better for fruit size? Absolutely. The best way to determine which ones to use is to look at previous winners. Genes are important. </p>
<p>A cherry, grape or plum tomato plant isn’t going to yield a winner. Some varieties have a genetic potential to produce larger fruit than others, including Beefsteak, Delicious, Big Beef, Big Rainbow, Dinner Plate, Giant Belgium, Big Pink, German Johnson, T & T Monster, Braggar and Brandywine, among others. All of these big boys are in the category of beefsteak tomato – they have smaller seed cavities than other varieties, and so proportionally more flesh than juice and seeds.</p>
<p>Since it would be hard to find plants of most of these at your local garden center, you will likely have to order seeds from seed catalogs and start your own plants.</p>
<p>There’s no guarantee that a plant of one of these varieties will be a winner. Although the potential for large size is in the genes, it will not be achieved unless the environmental conditions are optimized. And by that, I mean perfect.</p>
<h2>Super soil</h2>
<p>One of the most important tips is to start with great soil. All plants, not just tomatoes, will do much better if planted in <a href="http://extension.msstate.edu/vegetable-gardening-mississippi/garden-soil">properly prepared soil</a>. The soil should be well drained, high in organic matter and fertile. </p>
<p>Tomatoes thrive on animal manures. So if you have access to some composted (not fresh) manure, you might place some in the bottom of the hole and then cover it up before transplanting your seedling. This is a tried and true method for lots of old-time tomato growers.</p>
<h2>A place in the sun</h2>
<p>Like most vegetables, tomatoes need full sun. Anything less will decrease maximum photosynthesis, thereby limiting growth of foliage and fruit. A tomato plant needs lots of leaves to catch as much sun as possible, manufacture sugars and send those sugars to the developing fruit. They also don’t mind the heat (up to a point), so long as there is plenty of water in the root zone to keep them from drying out. </p>
<p>When the temperature gets into the mid 90s or above, that’s when trouble can occur. Tomato pollen is sterilized at 94 degrees Fahrenheit, so even if pollination occurs and pollen makes it from the male to the female parts of the flower, there won’t be much fertilization since pollen has been killed. So higher temperatures limit fruit set: the transformation of flower into fruit. Fruit quality and size will also suffer at very high temperature.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295318/original/file-20191002-49356-uhr6g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295318/original/file-20191002-49356-uhr6g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295318/original/file-20191002-49356-uhr6g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295318/original/file-20191002-49356-uhr6g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295318/original/file-20191002-49356-uhr6g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295318/original/file-20191002-49356-uhr6g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295318/original/file-20191002-49356-uhr6g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295318/original/file-20191002-49356-uhr6g2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Crowding isn’t your friend.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tomatoes-ripening-garden-outdoor-145055425">Slavica Stajic/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Space to spread out</h2>
<p>Tomatoes need plenty of room to grow. Commercially, most growers use a two-foot spacing within rows. If you want really large fruit, give them even more room. One of the most common errors by novice gardeners is planting tomato plants too close together. If you are just going for size, you need only a few good, healthy plants, with plenty of space around them.</p>
<p>Training plants to grow off the ground is a good idea to protect the quality of the fruit. Caging and staking are both fine. Just be sure to tie them frequently enough to support the plants. If you choose cages, you will need a mesh that is big enough to get your hand in, and to get that enormous tomato back out.</p>
<h2>Hydrated and well-fed</h2>
<p>Tomato plants need plenty of water, especially in hot weather, but will suffer if the ground stays saturated. As a rule of thumb, an inch and a half of water per week, from hose or from rain, is about right. The soil must be able to drain this water within a reasonably short time.</p>
<p>Be sure to water the plants thoroughly right after transplanting. After plants are established, always water deeply, once or twice per week, rather than giving them a light sprinkle every day; shallow watering leads to shallow roots. A good, thick mulch will help hold moisture in the soil around plants and also keeps the weeds down.</p>
<p>As for fertilizer, tomatoes need regular doses. Small, weekly amounts are better than large pre-plant amounts and one or two side-dressings. Liquid fertilizer is more quickly available to plants than granular forms. Some people like to use fish emulsion or “manure tea,” but any complete garden fertilizer will work.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295320/original/file-20191002-49404-m5rbbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295320/original/file-20191002-49404-m5rbbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295320/original/file-20191002-49404-m5rbbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295320/original/file-20191002-49404-m5rbbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295320/original/file-20191002-49404-m5rbbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295320/original/file-20191002-49404-m5rbbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295320/original/file-20191002-49404-m5rbbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295320/original/file-20191002-49404-m5rbbu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Don’t let your plant squander its resources.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-green-shoots-ovary-tomato-flower-1431314588">Alexander Sobol/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Focus on one flower</h2>
<p>One other tip, and this is important. Remove the first flower cluster or two so that the plant will produce more leaves before you allow it to set tomatoes.</p>
<p>Then, when the plant is big enough to set fruit, don’t let all of the fruit mature. Remove all but one fruit per cluster. Usually the first fruit to set on a cluster will be the largest, so snip off all of the other flowers or small fruit on that cluster. And don’t let too many clusters stay on the plant either.</p>
<h2>Prepare for prize-winning</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295321/original/file-20191002-49356-pzux9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295321/original/file-20191002-49356-pzux9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295321/original/file-20191002-49356-pzux9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295321/original/file-20191002-49356-pzux9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295321/original/file-20191002-49356-pzux9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295321/original/file-20191002-49356-pzux9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295321/original/file-20191002-49356-pzux9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295321/original/file-20191002-49356-pzux9o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You don’t need to break a world record to win a local contest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Associated-Press-Domestic-News-Massachusetts-Un-/bdf9e80d40e1da11af9f0014c2589dfb/1/0">AP Photo/Lisa Poole</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once you’ve got your jumbo beauty, what about that big money? Start by looking for local, county or state contests. Ask your State Department of Agriculture or County Extension Agent.</p>
<p>Good luck and remember to think big. The record continues to be broken every so often, which tells you that the upper limit has still not been found. </p>
<p>And if you just don’t have much luck growing gargantuan tomatoes, console yourself with the knowledge that while these techniques maximize for size, they do not maximize flavor. When plants get too much water, for example, the fruit can be bland. Your more average-sized tomatoes may be more delicious at the table.</p>
<p>[ <em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124374/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard G. Snyder has received funding from Mississippi Specialty Crops Block Grant, USDA Risk Management Agency, Mississippi Urban Forestry Council, Mississippi Department of Energy, and similar organizations to support his research and Extension program.</span></em></p>Have you recently harvested a big fruit from your garden? Here an expert’s tips on how to go from jumbo to gargantuan with your tomatoes.Richard G. Snyder, Professor of Horticulture & Extension Vegetable Specialist, Mississippi State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1234702019-09-19T13:40:39Z2019-09-19T13:40:39ZWhat does a healthy diet look like for me and the planet? It depends where you live<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293170/original/file-20190919-53507-t0umd4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5760%2C3837&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/map-world-made-different-kinds-spices-261572543?src=oZWIsGzwCwvEGtn5Q0vT2g-1-3">Africa Studio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I want people to think about the food that they eat not just from “field to fork” but from “seed to soul”. I’ve studied how to make the world’s food supply sustainable for more than 30 years, so people often ask me what’s the best diet for the planet. The problem is, most people want easy answers to that question. Sadly, there are none. </p>
<p>For example, I’ve often thought about becoming vegetarian for ethical and environmental reasons. But I wouldn’t want to eat soya or other foodstuffs imported from the other side of the world because of the carbon emissions involved in transporting them. And if we’re going to acknowledge the ethical quandary of eating animals, what about the animals in the soil? Why is crushing, slicing, and dicing mini beasts in agricultural operations alright, but not for the big beasts? When I follow these arguments through to their full conclusions, I end up as an organic, temperate, fruitarian – only eating fruit grown close to home, without the use of pesticides.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-vegans-avoid-avocados-and-almonds-104800">Should vegans avoid avocados and almonds?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>When it comes to finding a sustainable diet, there are many contradictions. A concept such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/food-miles-6475">food miles</a> can be helpful for figuring out the carbon emissions involved in bringing particular food items to your plate. It’s simple to understand – but it’s also likely to be meaningless. After all, it’s not just about how far something has travelled, but the environmental cost of that journey and how it was originally produced. </p>
<p>It can be argued that New Zealand lamb consumed in the UK has less of an environmental impact than locally produced lamb. New Zealand lamb production involves <a href="https://www.nzagrc.org.nz/beef-sheep-sector,listing,390,what-options-are-available-to-limit-emissions-growth.html">fewer carbon “rich” inputs</a> such as fertilisers. There is also a highly efficient transport system in New Zealand that is based on bigger farms and bigger lorries – producing and transporting more meat with less land and fewer emissions. This results in less greenhouse gas <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1553456/Greener-by-miles.html">per kilogram of meat</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293171/original/file-20190919-53503-155dbm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293171/original/file-20190919-53503-155dbm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293171/original/file-20190919-53503-155dbm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293171/original/file-20190919-53503-155dbm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293171/original/file-20190919-53503-155dbm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293171/original/file-20190919-53503-155dbm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293171/original/file-20190919-53503-155dbm8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New Zealand lamb is exported all over the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stunning-landscape-scene-agriculture-rural-area-1091831573?src=jT4il7RQjLYjQ_bFAlTaqg-1-1">Klanarong Chitmung/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But just because things are complicated, it doesn’t mean that we should give up. It’s clear that our health and the planet would benefit if people ate more fruit and vegetables and less meat. Eating seasonal produce, or food fresh from the fields, is a good idea too, particularly as it reconnects people with food and the land in which it’s produced. It forces us to engage with the reality that different crops are produced at different times of the year. Strawberries are a celebration of summer, spring greens of the spring.</p>
<p>But what does a seasonal diet look like for someone living in a temperate climate such as the UK’s? With the help of technology, we can grow many exotic crops in the UK which would otherwise perish in the climate. The problem is that much of this involves carbon-hungry technology, such as glasshouses heated by burning gas or vast fields of plastic polytunnels. </p>
<p>What would our diet look like if we grew all our food within the natural seasons and climate of our local area?</p>
<h2>Dinner dates</h2>
<p>Summer is great as we can feast on a wide range of fruits and vegetables. It’s easier during this season to follow the health advice to eat the rainbow. That is, to eat as broad a spectrum of colourful fruit and vegetables as possible. British summer affords strawberries, radishes, tomatoes and blueberries.</p>
<p>There are salads and summer puddings to enjoy for an injection of other colours, particularly green. If people are clever, many crops can be preserved for the coming winter. Ironically, during summer when much of our natural produce is plentiful, the UK still imports much of its food. </p>
<p>As we move into autumn, unless crops are protected by growing them inside a glasshouse or polytunnel, many of the more delicate foodstuffs start to wither away. We become increasingly dependent on roots such as beetroot, carrots, potatoes, swede and parsnips, and the leafy brassicas such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and kale. Of course there are other ingredients – let’s not forget leeks and swiss chard – but this is a time to hunker down and embrace what the Scandinavians call “hygge”. Getting cosy and comfortable with stews, soups and broths.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293173/original/file-20190919-53515-mnzt0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293173/original/file-20190919-53515-mnzt0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293173/original/file-20190919-53515-mnzt0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293173/original/file-20190919-53515-mnzt0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293173/original/file-20190919-53515-mnzt0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293173/original/file-20190919-53515-mnzt0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293173/original/file-20190919-53515-mnzt0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Autumn – a time for root veg and brassicas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/HfH5yd70ox8">Arnaldo Aldana/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Things get more austere as winter progresses. This is one reason why our ancestors had midwinter feasts around Christmas and the winter solstice. Nights were long, they needed to have a party to forget the winter and look forward to spring. Even in late February and March, when we start thinking of spring, there’s a hidden problem – the hunger gap. This is when the autumn crops that have survived through winter start to die off and the spring crops are yet to come. </p>
<p>Little things such as purple sprouting broccoli – also known as poor people’s asparagus – can offer some solace as they are ready to eat in winter. Of course, we can also preserve food from one season to another, but this requires energy. There are traditional skills that require less energy, but at the same time demand increasingly rare knowledge and time. </p>
<p>For example, how many people bottle their surplus fruit and vegetables or pickle eggs? Consuming local seasonal food in large amounts throughout the year will mean restructuring traditional food production systems and supply chains. These have been decimated by the concentration of food supply in the hands of fewer and fewer retailers and contract caterers. Winter would test our ability to preserve the bounty of summer and autumn, but spring would relieve us with artichokes, beetroot, new potatoes, rhubarb, rocket, sorrel and spinach. After that, the cycle begins again.</p>
<p>As I say, a truly sustainable food supply isn’t going to be simple. Much of it involves reviving cultural knowledge and processes that commercial supermarket chains have replaced. But the rewards of a local and seasonal food supply are great for nature and your health. Reconnecting with the land and its seasonal rhythms could do us all a great amount of good.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290123/original/file-20190829-106524-1w6rzla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290123/original/file-20190829-106524-1w6rzla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290123/original/file-20190829-106524-1w6rzla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290123/original/file-20190829-106524-1w6rzla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290123/original/file-20190829-106524-1w6rzla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290123/original/file-20190829-106524-1w6rzla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290123/original/file-20190829-106524-1w6rzla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>This article is part of <a href="https://www.cjr.org/covering_climate_now/covering-climate-partnerships.php/">The Covering Climate Now</a> series</em></strong>
<br><em>This is a concerted effort among news organisations to put the climate crisis at the forefront of our coverage. This article is published under a Creative Commons license and can be reproduced for free – just hit the “Republish this article” button on the page to copy the full HTML coding. The Conversation also runs Imagine, a newsletter in which academics explore how the world can rise to the challenge of climate change. <a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-newsletter-researchers-think-of-a-world-with-climate-action-113443?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=CoveringClimateNow">Sign up here</a></em>.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sean Beer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A seasonal diet could reconnect people with nature’s rhythms.Sean Beer, Senior Lecturer in Agriculture, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1233872019-09-12T16:11:52Z2019-09-12T16:11:52ZProcessing changes the food we eat – here’s what that means for our bodies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291943/original/file-20190911-190012-1v6nzi3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">file exn s</span> </figcaption></figure><p>To understand how healthy a food is, we generally look at its components – carbohydrates, fats and proteins, or the vitamins, minerals and other substances it may contain. But this purely “nutritional” vision overlooks one property that’s a key part of a food’s health potential – its structure.</p>
<p>For example, serving a child a breakfast cereal made up of whole wheat or rice may seem like a good idea, but research shows that processing can significantly impact its nutritive qualities. Extrusion-cooking or puffing can transform wheat and rice into primarily a source of sugars that the child’s body rapidly absorbs, and many of the nutritive values of the original grains are lost.</p>
<h2>The “matrix” of a food</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.anthonyfardet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Pratiques-en-Nutrition-2017.pdf">Too long ignored by nutritionists</a>, the concept of a food’s structural matrix is crucial to correctly assess its health potential, especially at a time when ultra-processed products have flooded supermarket shelves.</p>
<p>The term <em>matrix</em> (from the Latin “mater” meaning <em>mother</em>) refers to an element that “provides support or structure, and serves to surround, reproduce or construct”. In the case of food, it is a kind of three-dimensional structure. Within this matrix, the elements that compose a food interact with each other, conferring particular properties.</p>
<p>Take an almond: it is hard, brown and fibrous. If an almond is ground, its matrix changes: it’s now in the form of powder. But if the composition of ground almonds is theoretically identical to that of whole ones, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijfs.13192">their effects in the body are not the same</a>. In particular, the nutrients are digested differently, altering the body’s physiological and metabolic responses.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.anthonyfardet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Pratiques-en-Nutrition-2017.pdf">matrix effect of food</a> implies that “two foods of identical composition but with different structures do not have the same effects on health”. Put differently, for the body, a calorie of food A is not the same as a calorie of food B. What is crucial is the matrix environment of the calorie, the structure within which it is contained. In short, all calories are not interchangeable.</p>
<h2>The parts and the whole</h2>
<p>The “matrix” effect is not just about whole foods, but also about food ingredients, and even the nutrients themselves.</p>
<p>Take food carbohydrates (also known as starches): if you <a href="https://sciencing.com/hydrolyze-starch-heat-hydrochloric-acid-7789965.html">hydrolyse them</a> to create a glucose syrup and then a glucose-fructose syrup, the composition – or at least the calorie content – remains the same. Fructose has the same composition as glucose, but a different structure. However, the effects on the human body are no longer the same, because the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/62/4/871S/4651178?redirectedFrom=fulltext">glycemic indexes</a> – the intensity with which a food boosts blood-sugar levels – differ. Moreover, despite a low glycemic index, excessive consumption of fructose has been associated with <a href="https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpendo.00283.2010?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org">fatty liver disease</a> or <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20354567">non-alcoholic fatty liver disease</a>.</p>
<p>Consequently, understanding the “matrix” effect of foods, ingredients and nutrients is essential to correctly assessing their effects on human health.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292023/original/file-20190911-190016-21jxlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292023/original/file-20190911-190016-21jxlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292023/original/file-20190911-190016-21jxlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292023/original/file-20190911-190016-21jxlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292023/original/file-20190911-190016-21jxlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292023/original/file-20190911-190016-21jxlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292023/original/file-20190911-190016-21jxlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The structure of a cooked white bean under a microscope. Visible are the gelatinized starch grains (blue-violet), the protein aggregates (blue) and the fibrous walls (orange), which limit the digestion of starch by α-amylases, making sugars ‘slow’ and satiating.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">INRA Library</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Three physiological effects</h2>
<p>Because of the range of impacts they can have, the matrix of foods play a fundamental role in our diet:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Our sense of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/satiety">satiety</a>. The form of a food – hard, soft, friable, liquid and more – affects how much we must chew, and the more we do, the higher our sense of satisfaction and fullness.</p></li>
<li><p>The rate of release of nutrients in the digestive tract, and therefore their availability and subsequent use by the body.</p></li>
<li><p>How quickly food moves through the digestive tract.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>If we again take the example of almonds, whole ones have a solid matrix and must be chewed, making them <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nbu.12221">more satisfying</a>. Compared to ground almonds, solid ones also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814615005452">release less fat in the blood</a> and do so <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/101/1/25/4564309">more slowly</a>. All three effects are essential mechanisms for long-term health.</p>
<p>Similar differences exist for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/71495">whole apples (solid matrix), apple sauces (semi-solid matrix) and apple juice (liquid matrix)</a>, and this holds true for all foods. Consequently, we should always favour a food in its solid form if it is regularly consumed.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292026/original/file-20190911-190012-oiyq40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292026/original/file-20190911-190012-oiyq40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292026/original/file-20190911-190012-oiyq40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292026/original/file-20190911-190012-oiyq40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292026/original/file-20190911-190012-oiyq40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292026/original/file-20190911-190012-oiyq40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292026/original/file-20190911-190012-oiyq40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292026/original/file-20190911-190012-oiyq40.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The health potential of foods: calories are not interchangeable from the original food (left) to one that has been transformed (right).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>From processing to ultra-processing</h2>
<p>Modification of a food’s matrix is sometimes desirable because it makes it more digestible. However, transformations that completely disrupt its matrix to isolate its ingredients and then <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/ultraprocessed-foods-what-they-are-and-how-to-identify-them/E6D744D714B1FF09D5BCA3E74D53A185">recombine them in artificial matrices</a> can pose health problems.</p>
<p>One of the main characteristics of many <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l2289">ultra-processed foods</a> is not only the loss of the “matrix” effect by cracking/fractionation, but also by extraction, purification, hydrolysis or chemical modifications. Such foods are both “hyper-palatable” (which leads to overconsumption), yet they’re crumbly, soft, viscous or liquid and are thus <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2018/FO/C7FO01423F#!divAbstract">little chewed</a> (and therefore don’t satiate us). These two qualities are the essence of “junk food”, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html">addictive yet empty of almost everything but calories</a>.</p>
<p>The example of dietary fibre is also interesting. Industrial food companies often add fibre to products that have been over-refined. However, fibres naturally present in food matrices are associated with <a href="https://www.livescience.com/52541-phytonutrients.html">phytonutrients</a>, including antioxidants. By passing through the blood, these molecules potentially protect against the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Known as “bad cholesterol”, these oxidized LDLs can form <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/atherosclerotic-plaque">atheromatous plaques</a> in blood vessels, a cardiovascular risk factor. The antioxidants associated with the natural food fibres also help fight free radicals produced by colonic bacteria. With added dietary fibre, however, these positive effects are lost.</p>
<h2>Public health recommendations</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/2_background/en/">explosion of chronic disease in the world</a> may be due more to the loss of the “matrix” effect of food than to its composition. Indeed, research indicates that the degradation or artificial modification of a food’s original matrix is one of the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31105044">key drivers of excess calorie intake</a>. The overconsumption of saturated fats, salt, sugars and additives is simply a symptom of this modification.</p>
<p>Based on the scientific evidence, it is essential that nutritional recommendations begin to take into account the “matrix” effect of foods. For researchers, this opens up a whole range of scientific exploration in the field of processes and formulations. </p>
<p>For us as consumers, solutions are often within arm’s reach: when given the choice between whole, complex natural foods and ultra-processed products derived from them, go for the ones that are closest to their natural state.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123387/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>To understand how healthy a food is, we often look at fats and proteins, vitamins and minerals. But this approach overlooks one property that’s a key part of a food’s health potential – its structure.Anthony Fardet, Chargé de recherche, UMR 1019 - Unité de Nutrition humaine, Université de Clermont-Auvergne, InraeEdmond Rock, Directeur de recherche, InraeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1229622019-09-12T13:21:31Z2019-09-12T13:21:31ZPure fruit juice: healthy, or not?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291726/original/file-20190910-190061-76ysrd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Yes, fruit juice contains natural sugar, but it has other benefits over sugar-sweetened drinks.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mother-pouring-fresh-orange-juice-jug-118749622?src=V4WQJoCPLnRRJoPVNE_XMQ-1-8">Carlos Horta/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fruit juice was once viewed as part of a healthy diet, but today it is often seen as supplying little more <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2019-05-17/fruit-juices-just-as-bad-for-your-health-as-sugary-drinks/">than a high dose of sugar</a>. Increasingly, fruit juices are seen as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/17/how-fruit-juice-health-food-junk-food">junk foods</a>, and consumption is <a href="http://www.fruitjuicefocus.com/aijn-juice-report-2017-highlights/">falling</a>. But, as we argue in our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuz031">recently published paper</a>, fruit juice should not be cut from our diets. Major reasons for not consuming fruit are that it involves effort and it is often inconvenient. But fruit juice avoids the problems of intact fruit while providing the same range of health-promoting chemicals. </p>
<p>Most of us have heard we should be eating <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/5-a-day-what-counts/">five portions of fruit and vegetables a day</a>. Yet <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4835355/">several</a> <a href="https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1462">surveys</a> have shown that few people meet this target. This is despite the Global Burden of Disease study concluding that a poor diet is responsible <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190403193702.htm">for one in five deaths</a> and suggesting that greater health benefits might result from increasing consumption of whole grains, nuts, fruit and vegetables rather than concentrating on reducing the intake of sugar and fat.</p>
<p>Research has shown that drinking pure juice can be good for us. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29242527">The Food4Me study</a>, funded by the European Commission, revealed that lower weight was associated with a greater intake of fruits, vegetables and fruit juice. While a national nutritional survey in the US <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21677126">found that</a> adults who drink pure juice were at a lower risk of obesity and had better insulin sensitivity. </p>
<h2>Sugar-sweetened drinks</h2>
<p>Yet despite these benefits, several pressure groups and other organisations still suggest that juice should not be part of our diet. But their concerns rely on an analogy with sugar-sweetened fizzy drinks, and confusion over what a fruit juice actually is. The fear is that because fruit juice contains naturally occurring sugar, it increases the risk of obesity. Although fruit juice does contain sugar it should not be viewed as similar to sugar-containing drinks. </p>
<p>The term “fruit juice” includes drinks sweetened with sugar that contain little (if any) juice from fruit. Take Sunny Delight, for example. Thought to be a juice by many consumers, a 240ml serving contains <a href="https://sunnyd.com/product/tangy-original/">14 grams of sugar</a> and only <a href="https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/264468556">13% fruit juice from concentrate</a>. Fruit squashes and cordials meanwhile are a mixture of fruit pulp and sugar syrup. In contrast, pure fruit juice is just that, it has no added sugar. </p>
<p>Research has shown these drinks have very different effects on our bodies. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24682091">joint American and Chinese study</a> of nearly 200,000 people found that drinking sugar-sweetened fruit juice increased the risk of diabetes, while drinking pure fruit juice did not. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28336576">While another showed</a> that while sugar-sweetened drinks increase the weight of children over six years, pure fruit does not.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291727/original/file-20190910-190044-1y5vgok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291727/original/file-20190910-190044-1y5vgok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291727/original/file-20190910-190044-1y5vgok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291727/original/file-20190910-190044-1y5vgok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291727/original/file-20190910-190044-1y5vgok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291727/original/file-20190910-190044-1y5vgok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/291727/original/file-20190910-190044-1y5vgok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Juicing retains many of the health benefits associated with the original fruit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-glasses-orange-juice-fruits-68566873?src=cVAMFeQIAZLuD7kFSOf6Zw-2-64">monticello/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Juices contain many health-promoting nutrients – such as vitamin C, polyphenols and carotenoids – that occur only to limited extents in sugar-sweetened drinks. Vitamin C, in particular, has been associated with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22492364">reduced blood pressure</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12875759">lower risk of heart disease</a> and a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10871572">better life expectancy for men</a>.</p>
<p>Polyphenols – which gives fruit its red, purple and blue colours – have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28472215">summary of 22 studies of flavonoids</a> (a type of polyphenol) found that high intake cuts the risk of premature death by a quarter. And intake of anthocyanidins – another polyphenol – <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12198000">reduces the risk of developing diabetes</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, carotenoids (responsible for orange, yellow and red colourings) have been associated with lower cancer risks. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25873578">summary of studies</a> linked them with a lower risk of developing oral and laryngeal cancer. Similarly, greater levels of carotenoids in the blood have been <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22760559">related to a reduced rate of breast cancer</a>.</p>
<h2>Loss of fibre</h2>
<p>But what about fibre? A second argument for not drinking juice is that it provides less dietary fibre than intact fruit. As the Mayo Clinic <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/juicing/faq-20058020">has pointed out</a>, although fruit juice “contains most of the vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals (phytonutrients) found in the whole fruit … healthy fiber is lost during most juicing”. </p>
<p>Fibre helps to prevent diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer, but the Western diet doesn’t provide <a href="https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1462">enough</a>. There is a view that if people don’t drink juice, they will instead eat more intact fruit and the fibre that goes with it. But it’s improbable that juice and intact fruit are often alternatives. If you stop drinking juice for breakfast you will replace it with another drink. We drink because we’re thirsty not because we want to eat more fruit. The convenience of a drink allows consumption when it is impractical to eat fruit. </p>
<p>Nobody suggests that we should not eat meat or fish because they do not contain fibre. Instead, we look at the benefits of overall consumption – which is something we must start to do with fruit juice.</p>
<p>In 2017, an extensive survey of the benefits of fruit and vegetables found that the chances of premature death in those eating five to seven portions a day <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28338764">are 30% less</a> than those eating none, or just one portion. As the health-promoting chemicals in intact fruit are also found in juice, it is unsurprising that this – and other studies – have found fruit juice beneficial to our health. This research also showed that drinking either citrus or other fruit juices was associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease, stroke or death from any cause.</p>
<p>Although it should not be seen as an alternative to intact fruit, having a daily pure fruit juice is a simple way to increase intake of beneficial chemicals. As part of a healthy diet, pure juice should be viewed as a health food – not a junk food.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122962/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Benton has in the past been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Fruit Juice Association.
but the views are entirely those of the authors and the EFJA had no role in the development of this article. Hayley Young has no interest to declare.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hayley Young does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People often avoid fruit juice due to its sugar content and low fibre, but it still contains lots of good chemicals our bodies need.David Benton, Professor of Psychology, Swansea UniversityHayley Young, Associate Professor of Psychology, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1113982019-03-13T13:51:40Z2019-03-13T13:51:40ZUgly veg: supermarkets aren’t the biggest food wasters – you are<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263609/original/file-20190313-123519-1363fby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C9%2C6048%2C4010&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fresh-food-garbage-can-illustrate-waste-344303621">Speedkingz/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/19/fruit-vegetables-wasted-ugly-report">“Ugly” or “wonky” veg</a> were blamed for up to 40% of wasted fruit and vegetables in 2013, as produce was discarded for failing to meet retailer appearance standards. About 1.3 billion tonnes of food is <a href="http://www.fao.org/save-food/resources/keyfindings/en/">wasted worldwide every year</a> and, of this, fruit and vegetables have the highest wastage rates of any food type. But just how much of that is due to “ugly veg” being tossed by farms and supermarkets? The biggest culprit for food waste may be closer to home than we’d like to admit.</p>
<p>“Ugliness” is just <a href="https://www.foodsecurity.ac.uk/publications/food-waste-within-global-food-systems.pdf">one reason among many</a> for why food is wasted at some point from farm to fork – there’s also overproduction, improper storage and disease. But the problem of “wonky veg” caught the public’s attention.</p>
<p>A report published in 2017 suggested that sales of “wonky veg” have <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmenvfru/429/429.pdf">risen in recent years</a> as retailers have acknowledged the problem with wasting edible food, but it’s estimated that up to 25% of apples, 20% of onions and 13% of potatoes grown in the UK are still wasted on cosmetic grounds.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263611/original/file-20190313-123548-xcrway.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263611/original/file-20190313-123548-xcrway.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263611/original/file-20190313-123548-xcrway.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263611/original/file-20190313-123548-xcrway.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263611/original/file-20190313-123548-xcrway.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263611/original/file-20190313-123548-xcrway.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263611/original/file-20190313-123548-xcrway.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Wonky’ carrots – still just as good as prettier produce.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/trendy-ugly-organic-carrot-home-garden-418145557">Amophoto_au/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Morrisons reported that consumers had begun to buy more misshapen food, whereas Sainsbury’s and Tesco both report including “wonky veg” in their recipe boxes, juices, smoothies and soups.</p>
<p>Not all ugly veg is wasted at the retail point of the supply chain however. WRAP, a charity who have been working with governments on food waste since 2000, have investigated food waste on farms and <a href="http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Food_waste_in_primary_production_report.pdf">their initial findings</a> suggest a major cause of fruit waste is due to produce failing aesthetic standards. For example, strawberries are often discarded if they’re the wrong size for supermarkets.</p>
<p>The National Farmers Union also <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/eu-sub-com-d/food-waste-prevention/154.pdf">reported in 2014</a> that around 20% of Gala apples were being wasted prior to leaving the farm gate as they weren’t at least 50% red in colour.</p>
<h2>Home is where the waste is</h2>
<p>Attitudes seem to be changing on “ugly veg” at least. Morissons ran a campaign to promote its <a href="https://my.morrisons.com/wonky-fruit-veg/">“ugly veg” produce aisle</a>, and other supermarkets are stocking similar items. Despite this, household waste <a href="http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Courtauld%2520Commitment%25202025%2520-%2520baseline%2520report%2520for%25202015.pdf">remains the biggest culprit</a> for food waste in the UK. Just under 5m tonnes of food wasted in the UK occurs in households – a staggering 70% of all post-farm gate food waste.</p>
<p>A further million tonnes is wasted in the hospitality sector, with the latest government report blaming overly generous portion sizes. This suggests that perhaps – despite the best effort of campaigns such as <a href="https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/">Love Food Hate Waste</a> – farms and retailers have been unfairly targeted by the “wonky veg” campaigns at the expense of focusing on where food waste really hits home. The <a href="https://www.foodsecurity.ac.uk/publications/food-waste-within-global-food-systems.pdf">2013 Global Food Security Report</a> put the figure for household and hospitality waste at 50% of total UK food waste.</p>
<p>There are some signs we’re getting better at least. <a href="http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Food-Surplus-and-Waste-UK-Key-Facts-23-11-18.pdf">WRAP’s 2015 research</a> showed that, at the household level, people now waste 1m tonnes of food per year less than they did in 2007. This is a staggering £3.4 billion per year saved simply by throwing less edible produce away.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263622/original/file-20190313-123519-124gv67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263622/original/file-20190313-123519-124gv67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263622/original/file-20190313-123519-124gv67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263622/original/file-20190313-123519-124gv67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263622/original/file-20190313-123519-124gv67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263622/original/file-20190313-123519-124gv67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263622/original/file-20190313-123519-124gv67.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Could growing more food at home help cut household food waste?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-girl-pulling-onions-on-allotment-408647020">Air Images/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As climate change and its influence on extreme weather intensifies, reducing waste from precious food harvests will <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/30/extreme-weather-could-push-uk-food-prices-up-this-year-say-farmers">only become more important</a>. Knowing exactly where the majority of waste occurs, rather than focusing too much on “wonky veg” in farms and supermarkets, is an important step towards making sure everyone has enough affordable and nutritious food to live on.</p>
<p>During the UK’s “Dig for Victory” campaign in World War II, a large proportion of the population had to grow their own fruit and vegetables. Now the majority of people live in cities and towns – typically detached from primary food production. In the UK, the <a href="https://myharvest.org.uk/">MYHarvest project</a> has started to uncover how much “own-growing” contributes to the national diet and it seems demand for land to grow-your-own is increasing. </p>
<p>Research in Italy and Germany found that people who grow their own food <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/3/2695">waste the least</a>. One way to fight food waste at home then – whether for “wonky” fruit and vegetables or otherwise – may be to replace the farm-to-fork supply chain with a garden-to-plate approach.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111398/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Miriam C. Dobson receives funding from The University of Sheffield Department of Animal and Plant Sciences for her PhD research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jill L. Edmondson receives funding from the EPSRC Living With Environmental Change Fellowship Grant EP/N030095/1.</span></em></p>Supermarkets and farms have acted to ensure they discard fewer “ugly” and “wonky” fruit and vegetables. However, the bulk of the problem lies with households.Miriam C. Dobson, PhD Researcher in Urban Agriculture, University of SheffieldJill Edmondson, EPSRC Living with Environmental Change Research Fellow, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1112112019-02-07T13:59:53Z2019-02-07T13:59:53ZEating more fruit and vegetables linked to better mental well-being – new study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257483/original/file-20190206-174857-2qg7ua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/431563114?src=5YJEGfMEASgOOAAmeM2PEg-1-0&size=medium_jpg">NIKITA TV/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is well known that eating lots of fruit and vegetables is good for your physical health, but our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.12.017">latest research</a> suggests that it might be good for your mental health too.</p>
<p>A study from <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303260">Australia</a> in 2016 found improvements in psychological well-being after increases in fruit and vegetable consumption. We wanted to know if this finding held true using a larger sample (more than 40,000 participants) from the UK Household Longitudinal Study.</p>
<p>Our analysis showed that increases in the consumption of fruit and vegetables are linked to increases in self-reported mental well-being and life satisfaction in data that spans a five-year period, even after accounting for other determinants of mental well-being such as physical health, income and consumption of other foods.</p>
<p>The benefits of physical activity for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2015.1022901">mental health</a> are well established. The estimates from our work suggest that adding one portion to your diet per day could be as beneficial to mental well-being as going for a walk on an extra seven to eight days a month. One portion is equal to one cup of raw vegetables (the size of a fist), half a cup of cooked vegetables or chopped fruit, or one piece of whole fruit. This result is encouraging as it means that one possible way to improve your mental health could be something as simple as eating an extra piece of fruit every day or having a salad with a meal.</p>
<p>It is important to stress that our findings alone cannot reveal a causal link from fruit and vegetable consumption to increased psychological well-being. And we can’t rule out so-called “substitution effects”. People can only eat so much in a day, so someone who eats more fruits and vegetables might just have less room in their diet for unhealthy foods. Although we accounted for bread and dairy in our study, ideally, future research should track all other foods consumed to rule out alternative explanations.</p>
<p>But when taken in combination with other studies in this area, the evidence is encouraging. For example, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0171206">randomised trial</a> conducted in New Zealand found that various measures of mental well-being, such as motivation and vitality, improved in a treatment group where young adults were asked to eat two extra portions of fruit and vegetables a day for two weeks, although no changes were found for depressive symptoms, anxiety or mood.</p>
<p>Though our own study cannot rule out that people with higher levels of mental well-being might be eating more fruits and vegetables as a result, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.01.004">recent commentary</a> on our work by the authors of the 2016 Australian study sheds further light on this. The authors show that the number of fruit and vegetable portions eaten in a day can predict whether someone is diagnosed with depression or anxiety two years later. But the reverse does not seem to be true. Being diagnosed with depression does not appear to be a strong predictor of fruit and vegetable consumption two years later. This suggests that it is perhaps more likely that eating fruits and vegetables is influencing mood and not the other way around.</p>
<h2>Looking for causes</h2>
<p>Although several studies, including our own, have found a link between fruit and vegetable consumption and mental well-being, we need large trials to provide robust evidence that the link is causal. However, randomised controlled trials are expensive, so another way to identify causation is to focus on the biological mechanisms that link the chemicals commonly found in fruit and vegetables to physical changes in the body. For example, vitamins C and E have been shown to <a href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7015-11-200">lower inflammatory markers</a> linked to depressive mood.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257705/original/file-20190207-174887-1qn8odm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257705/original/file-20190207-174887-1qn8odm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257705/original/file-20190207-174887-1qn8odm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257705/original/file-20190207-174887-1qn8odm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257705/original/file-20190207-174887-1qn8odm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257705/original/file-20190207-174887-1qn8odm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257705/original/file-20190207-174887-1qn8odm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vitamin C and E found in fruit and veg may lower inflammatory markers linked to depressed mood.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/227550832?src=hUfOBoB0RFnHE6xydVyEtA-1-4&size=medium_jpg">monticello/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although more research is needed, our work adds weight to a growing body of evidence that eating fruits and vegetables and having higher levels of mental well-being are positively related, and the signs of a causal link from other recent studies are encouraging. We are not suggesting eating fruits and vegetables is a substitute for medical treatment, but a simple way to improve your mental health could be to add a little more fruit and veg to your daily diet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111211/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neel Ocean receives funding from the Global Food Security's “Resilience of the UK Food System Programme” with support from BBSRC, ESRC, NERC and Scottish Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Howley receives funding from the Global Food Security's “Resilience of the UK Food System Programme” with support from BBSRC, ESRC, NERC and Scottish Government.</span></em></p>Could we eat our way to better mental health?Neel Ocean, Research Fellow in Behavioural Economics, University of LeedsPeter Howley, Associate Professor of Economics, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/940252018-07-15T18:51:14Z2018-07-15T18:51:14ZGames boost student nutrition in Nigerian schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226875/original/file-20180710-70066-12gwibh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women selling farm produce in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The worsening of dietary habits among youth appears to have no geographical bounds.
And improving dietary behaviour has become a critical public health challenge around the globe. </p>
<p>This is especially true in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where we have seen a rapid transition from wholesome traditional diets to a more Western diet consisting of foods high in sugar, saturated fat and salt.</p>
<p>This trend — generally referred to as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1079/PHN19980004">nutrition transition</a> — has imposed a double burden of diet-related chronic diseases in SSA, a place where malnutrition and obesity now coexist. </p>
<p>This transition is affecting many youth, who make up approximately 33 per cent (344.4 million people) of the population. And the size of this demographic group is set to double — to reach <a href="https://www.prb.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/youth-data-sheet-2013.pdf">605 million by 2050</a>.</p>
<p>With the exception of South Africa, where over 40 per cent of the adult population is now overweight or obese, most countries in SSA are still in the <a href="http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1177/0379572116637723">early stages of the nutrition transition</a>. </p>
<p>This offers a window of opportunity to learn from other countries and take proactive steps to intervene at earlier ages and lessen the harm to the health of the population.</p>
<p>I have just <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0260106018782211">published the results of a new study</a> that documents the effectiveness of a nutrition gamification program — Nutrido — in improving dietary behaviour among youth in Abuja, Nigeria.</p>
<h2>Why a nutrition game?</h2>
<p>Given my experience working on food security issues for more than 10 years and teaching a food security and food sovereignty course at the University of Toronto, one question I see a lot is: How do I get youth to eat more fruits and vegetables and less junk food? </p>
<p>This question was very pronounced for me during a seven-year food security study across nine African countries, where I witnessed first-hand the rapid nutrition transition occurring in many urban city centres, from Nairobi to Abuja to Cape Town and Cairo.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226873/original/file-20180710-70054-q1tbni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226873/original/file-20180710-70054-q1tbni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226873/original/file-20180710-70054-q1tbni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226873/original/file-20180710-70054-q1tbni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226873/original/file-20180710-70054-q1tbni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226873/original/file-20180710-70054-q1tbni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226873/original/file-20180710-70054-q1tbni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canal Walk Food Court, Cape Town, South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Wikimedia Commons/Henry M. Trotter)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During the same time period, there has been an increased interest in games and social media platforms among African youth. </p>
<p>This raised the possibility of piggybacking on this trend, to nudge youth towards healthier eating habits. </p>
<p>We wondered: Could games play an important role in nutrition education, and even in reversing this trend? </p>
<h2>Designing for adolescents</h2>
<p>Gamifying nutrition can be referred to as the strategy of employing game design elements to improve dietary behaviour. </p>
<p>A good example is the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743514001467">FIT Game</a>, which was shown to increase the intake of fruits and vegetables by at least 30 per cent among elementary school children in the United States.</p>
<p>Looking at how we could bring this concept to the sub-Saharan African context, our teams in Abuja and Toronto came together to develop a gamification program (Nutrido) tailored for adolescents. It consists of a nutrition board game, student clubs and vouchers that are redeemable for fruits and veggies.</p>
<p>The board game comes with a stack of playing cards, dice, playing pieces, play money and a list of rules. Players must navigate scenarios such as choosing whether to purchase a healthy meal or an unhealthy meal (given their play money) or landing on an action card that requires them to perform physical activity exercises (e.g., “Do 10 push-ups”).</p>
<p>The core strategy of the game is to buy healthy food cards to get as many points as possible. These points can be “cashed in” through a voucher system, integrated in the game, to buy real fruits and vegetables from partnering tuck shops.</p>
<h2>More fruits and vegetables</h2>
<p>To test the impact of our idea, we tried this program in three secondary schools in Abuja. Participants were male and female students in Grade 11 and Grade 12. </p>
<p>Each student took part in a game session (20-30 minutes) once per week over a period of about six weeks. We then assessed its impact on students’ nutrition knowledge, attitudes toward healthy eating and eating behaviour — using semi-structured focus groups.</p>
<p>Importantly, we found that the game improved eating behaviour, specifically the intake of fruits and vegetables. One student said: “I used to skip fruits sometimes, like give it out, but now, I take my fruits.” </p>
<p>When asked exactly how her consumption of fruit had changed, she explained that “on a daily basis, I will say like one or so, but after the game, like five to four times.”</p>
<p>There was also a change in behaviour whereby students spent their own money to buy fruits from the tuck shop while forfeiting junk food. For example, a female student said: “When we go there (the store) every week day, there’s a section for fruits and all that, but then when nobody ever used to look at that area but now that Nutrido started coming around, people like fruits like apple, people begin to like and learn to have some bit of fruit.” </p>
<p>By extension, participants also redeemed their Nutrido vouchers to purchase fruits from merchants at participating tuck shops.</p>
<h2>‘Let food be thy medicine’</h2>
<p>The results of the study are now published in the <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0260106018782211">journal <em>Nutrition and Health</em></a>, and the Nutrido program has been introduced in 10 secondary schools across Abuja.</p>
<p>Almost 2,500 years ago, when Hippocrates made the statement, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” he was pointing at the profound impact that nutrition has on our health. </p>
<p>Until entire communities begin to think differently about the way they approach food, Hippocrates’ words serve merely as a motto — rather than a lifestyle we should strive for.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94025/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>“Obidi Ezezika is the founder of the African Centre for Innovation and Leadership Development which hosts the Nutrido program” </span></em></p>Obesity and malnutrition now coexist across sub-Saharan Africa thanks to a transition to Western diets. “Gamifying” nutrition programs can help nudge youth towards healthier eating patterns.Obidimma Ezezika, Assistant professor, Teaching Stream, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/860622018-01-10T19:32:40Z2018-01-10T19:32:40ZWhat are antioxidants? And are they truly good for us?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198244/original/file-20171208-11291-5k882y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Despite the marketing hype, antioxidants can be harmful when consumed in excess. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/SHJMuYQSRn8">Israel Egio/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Antioxidants seem to be everywhere; in superfoods and skincare, even chocolate and red wine. Products that contain antioxidants are marketed as essential for good health, with promises to fight disease and reverse ageing. </p>
<p>But are they really as good for us as we’re led to believe?</p>
<h2>What are antioxidants?</h2>
<p>The term antioxidant covers a wide range of molecules (atoms bound together by chemical bonds) that protect other molecules from a chemical process called oxidation. Oxidation can damage vital molecules in our cells, including DNA and proteins, which are responsible for many body processes. </p>
<p>Molecules such as DNA are needed for cells to function properly, so if too many are damaged, the cell can malfunction or die. This is why antioxidants are important. They can prevent or reduce this damage. In the body, uncontrolled oxidation is typically caused by highly reactive molecules known as free radicals.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198268/original/file-20171208-11325-emn99q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198268/original/file-20171208-11325-emn99q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198268/original/file-20171208-11325-emn99q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198268/original/file-20171208-11325-emn99q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198268/original/file-20171208-11325-emn99q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198268/original/file-20171208-11325-emn99q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198268/original/file-20171208-11325-emn99q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Products that contain antioxidants are marketed as essential for good health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/2990842130/in/photolist-5yhRaC-7v9iHN-39oS6-gXwnop-fQyUjy-5KRBDa-9oSp-4AFPm8-9hvwPA-37VeF-F27Ev-6dWxQD-5KVR7J-8EkFt9-9hvziC-5KRArZ-nBKaLd-FSED4F-6diVqe-6e1GQS-5KRBdX-5KVRho-5KVQLs-6e1GSw-5KVQRC-9hqzng-5KVPuY-9gsG74-6dWppg-5KRzzX-6dWitB-6diVqH-4Xv6uW-6dWxNH-81fBq3-6dqeJY-8DWx2P-5KVQ6W-53xvn1-5KVQuu-5KVQiJ-5KRzGD-7wt24d-9DpTxg-37Vf6-2X57JJ-9DpUhR-9DsPfL-rpLncv-wgDU4S">Alpha/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is oxidation?</h2>
<p>Oxidation is a common chemical reaction where electrons are transferred from one molecule to another. Electrons are one of the subatomic (smaller than an atom) particles that make up pretty much everything. As electrons move during an oxidation reaction, bonds can be broken and the structure of the molecules changed.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193351/original/file-20171106-1017-11cegwm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193351/original/file-20171106-1017-11cegwm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193351/original/file-20171106-1017-11cegwm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193351/original/file-20171106-1017-11cegwm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193351/original/file-20171106-1017-11cegwm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193351/original/file-20171106-1017-11cegwm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193351/original/file-20171106-1017-11cegwm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193351/original/file-20171106-1017-11cegwm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unpaired electrons make free radicals unstable and highly reactive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Not all oxidation reactions are bad. They are essential for life and involved in many important processes. In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_respiration">cellular respiration</a>, glucose (a sugar from the food we eat) is oxidised by oxygen (from the air we breathe), producing carbon dioxide, water and energy to fuel our bodies. Household bleaches oxidise coloured stains into colourless molecules. </p>
<p>Less desirable oxidation reactions include the rusting of metals and oxidative food spoilage.</p>
<h2>What are free radicals?</h2>
<p>Free radicals are simply molecules with one or more unpaired electrons. Electrons like to be in pairs, so unpaired electrons can result in unstable and highly reactive molecules. To become stable, the free radical must steal an electron from another molecule (or give one away). When a molecule loses an electron, that molecule has been oxidised and itself becomes a free radical.</p>
<p>This new free radical can steal an electron from another molecule, starting a chain reaction. This process permanently changes the structure of the molecules, causing irreversible damage. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199142/original/file-20171214-27558-wum0nv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199142/original/file-20171214-27558-wum0nv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199142/original/file-20171214-27558-wum0nv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199142/original/file-20171214-27558-wum0nv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199142/original/file-20171214-27558-wum0nv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199142/original/file-20171214-27558-wum0nv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199142/original/file-20171214-27558-wum0nv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199142/original/file-20171214-27558-wum0nv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A free radical can steal an electron from another molecule, which then becomes a free radical.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But if an antioxidant is present, it can donate an electron to the free radical, stabilising it and stopping the chain reaction. The antioxidant sacrifices itself and is oxidised instead of the other molecule, becoming a free radical. But unlike most molecules, the antioxidant is able to stabilise the unpaired electron and does not become highly reactive. This process deactivates the antioxidant.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194259/original/file-20171113-31813-1o9mdqk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194259/original/file-20171113-31813-1o9mdqk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194259/original/file-20171113-31813-1o9mdqk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194259/original/file-20171113-31813-1o9mdqk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194259/original/file-20171113-31813-1o9mdqk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194259/original/file-20171113-31813-1o9mdqk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194259/original/file-20171113-31813-1o9mdqk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194259/original/file-20171113-31813-1o9mdqk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An antioxidant donates an electron to a free radical and stops the chain reaction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Free radicals aren’t always bad for you. Their highly reactive and destructive nature is used by the body’s immune system. Certain white blood cells, called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0022055/">phagocytes</a>, can engulf foreign particles, such as bacteria, then seal them off and release free radicals to destroy them.</p>
<p>Free radicals are generated naturally by our bodies, but can be increased by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2797(96)03729-5">lifestyle factors</a> such as stress, poor diet, pollution, smoking and alcohol. Our bodies can handle some free radicals, but if too many are formed it can overwhelm the body’s normal defences.</p>
<p>Free radical damage is thought to be one of the causes of ageing and contribute to various diseases. For example, free radical damage to DNA can cause <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0959804995005315">genetic mutations and promote cancer</a>.</p>
<h2>All antioxidants aren’t equal</h2>
<p>So, if free radicals are dangerous and cause ageing and disease, and antioxidants can neutralise them, then getting more antioxidants should be good for you, shouldn’t it? Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that. Yes, high antioxidant levels and low oxidative stress are <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/63/6/985S.short">associated with good health</a>, but not all antioxidants are equal.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198251/original/file-20171208-11318-18nugwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198251/original/file-20171208-11318-18nugwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198251/original/file-20171208-11318-18nugwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198251/original/file-20171208-11318-18nugwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198251/original/file-20171208-11318-18nugwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198251/original/file-20171208-11318-18nugwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198251/original/file-20171208-11318-18nugwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A healthy diet is the most effective way to get antioxidants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/298038920?size=huge_jpg">www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Antioxidants come from many sources. Some are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1053/j.mpmed.2006.09.007">naturally produced in the body</a> and some <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/antioxidants#lp-h-3">naturally occur in foods</a> we eat. Antioxidants (natural or synthetic) can also be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preservative#Antioxidants">added to foods</a> that don’t normally contain them, either for their (supposed) health value or to preserve the food (antioxidants also prevent oxidation in foods). </p>
<p>A <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/63/6/985S.short">healthy diet</a> is the most effective way to get the antioxidants your body needs. <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/antioxidants#lp-h-3">Fruits, vegetables, grains, eggs and nuts</a> are all useful sources of antioxidants. Despite the marketing hype, antioxidants found in so-called <a href="https://theconversation.com/superfoods-not-so-super-after-all-14029">superfoods</a> are no more effective than those in regular fruit and veg, so you’re better off saving your money. </p>
<p>But it’s a different story when it comes to antioxidant supplements. Research has found antioxidant supplements may cause more harm than good. A <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD007176.pub2/abstract">2012 meta analysis</a> of over 70 trials found antioxidant supplements are ineffective or even detrimental to health. The reasons are unclear, but the added nutritional benefits from consuming antioxidants in a healthy diet is likely to contribute to this. Also, the high concentrations of antioxidants associated with supplement use can lead to problems.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198278/original/file-20171208-11331-1sno512.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198278/original/file-20171208-11331-1sno512.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198278/original/file-20171208-11331-1sno512.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198278/original/file-20171208-11331-1sno512.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198278/original/file-20171208-11331-1sno512.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198278/original/file-20171208-11331-1sno512.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198278/original/file-20171208-11331-1sno512.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Superfoods and regular fruit and veg both provide the same types of antioxidants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Too much of a good thing</h2>
<p>There are a number of reasons why high concentrations of antioxidants may be harmful. At high concentrations, antioxidants may:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/63/6/985S.short">act as pro-oxidants</a>, increasing oxidation</li>
<li>protect dangerous cells (such as <a href="http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/6/221/221ra15">cancer cells</a>) as well as healthy cells</li>
<li><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/JP270654/full">reduce the health benefits of exercise</a></li>
<li>have unwanted side effects, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C#Side_effects">nausea</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coenzyme_Q10#Supplementation">headaches</a>, or even reach <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_E#Toxicity">toxic levels</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>There is no magic pill, but a healthy diet can provide you with all the antioxidants you need to fight free radical damage.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86062/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacqui Adcock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Antioxidants are meant to be good for us, but not all antioxidants are equal.Jacqui Adcock, Research Fellow in Analytical Chemistry, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.