We all need more education on what the real value of Vegetables are for Australia.

During the middle of this year, we’ve experienced some of the wildest influxes with our produce prices we have ever seen, specifically vegetables. Lettuce was retailing $12 a head in June to fruit – specifically berries almost as rare as hens’ teeth.

One singular theme that rang loudly throughout these supply chain struggles is that people didn't understand the real reasons, and possibly did not see the value – other than cost that their vegetables bring to the dinner table. This all stems from a lack of education, and the need for us as a society to shift our mindset and buying habits.?

Understanding the growing cycle and eating in season

We’re such a consumerist society and we have gotten so accustomed to getting what we want when we want but the growing cycle (nature’s cycle) doesn’t work like that. What is clear is that our weather will become more unpredictable and growing cycles will become harder to predict. It’s imperative we begin to understand and educate ourselves more around the supply chain and fruit and vegetables than ever before!

This is a great opportunity for the growers voice to be heard and help educate people on what’s in season, how things grow, and the reasons for why things can sometimes be so unpredictable. For instance, as we’re fully in spring, Australians should see affordable prices for veggies that produce well in spring time such as broccoli, beetroot, cauliflower and spring onions but that is reliant on ‘spring’ acting like spring.

Spring for growers ‘should’ mean longer days with more sunlight, an increase in overall temperature, some rain dotted through the weeks and wind that’s at a moderate level perfect weather for plants to thrive! But if mother nature has other plans…well then spring may not be so bountiful.

But a general rule is to eat in season. This contributes to increasing the variety of your diet and goes a long way to increasing the nutrition your body receives; you’ll also feel savings in your wallet.??

Shifting our mentality and buy habits?

We need to be arming ourselves with information to make smarter purchasing decisions, the second hurdle is helping shift our mindsets, our value profile and our buying habits when we see influx in pricing.?

To begin to really value our veg, we need to understand that despite price influxes vegetables will still reign king when we look at it against meat, gram-for-gram. Despite both products increasing in cost, what you get for $5 in vegetables and fruit is far greater in terms of baulk compared to meat.

Our vegetables will go further than our meat products will. In general, consuming more vegetables is not only better for our health but also for our environment.?

When browsing the aisle at our local grocery store, we need to understand that despite the price increasing of our produce it doesn’t mean that we should stop eating it and wait for the price to go down.?

Instead, it’s important we first arm ourselves with our education - learning to eat what’s in season - and then shifting our mindset that our vegetables actually go further both in our wallets and in our stomachs than any other primary product!

Beginning to truly understand the value of vegetables

At a time when cost of living is rising, it’s important we arm ourselves with right information so we can make smart purchasing decisions, especially decisions where it impacts our health.?

Vegetables are one of the most valuable commodities. The value of our vegetables goes deeper than just our individual health and having a nutritious diet.?

Consuming more vegetables is better for our environment and can actually be one of the ways we cut down on our environmental footprint and global warming.?

According to the UN, there are ways we can do our part such as starting to eat a more plant-rich, balanced diet. One that provides energy and nutrients from several different food groups – and reduces foods that are harder on our planet.?

Another way we can begin to understand the value of veg and help reduce our footprint includes cutting our food waste by how we buy, prepare and dispose of our food.?

When you throw away food, you’re also wasting the energy, land, water, and fertilizer that was used to produce, package, and transport it. Only buy what you need – and use up what you buy.

In regards to our health, eating more veggies can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and have a positive effect upon blood sugar, which can help keep appetite in check.

Growers and shoppers are all on the same team. We are producing the healthiest food for humans there is. And we want you to have access to fresh healthy produce daily, so much so we have dedicated our lives to it!