Affordable food
Do you get your recommended 400g?
Food accounts for a significant share of household expenditure on goods and services, consequently, food prices influence food choices, and therefore our diet.
Low income households in Europe have a tendency to avoid what they consider to be the most expensive food, such as fish and fresh fruits and vegetables. The majority of European do not consume the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recommended daily 400g of fruit and vegetables (excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers).
This is alarming trend - exhibited in a relatively well developed region of the world - is mirrored on a global scale. The health implications of a diet lacking in fruits and vegetables is clearly illustrated in a WHO estimate that up to 2.7 million lives could be saved each year if fruit and vegetable consumption were to be sufficiently increased. Fruits and vegetables do not only provide energy, their nutritional content helps prevent illness and disease.
Ensuring available and affordable food
Ensuring that the food we require for a healthy and balanced diet is both readily available and affordable is key to reducing hunger and the occurrence of the diseases associated with a poor diet. The UK Food Standards Agency states "by protecting crops, pesticides help to provide a plentiful supply of food all the year round. If pesticides were not used, this could affect the availability and prices of food". Without the use of pesticides we could experience between a 50 and 75% loss of crop yield per year - this will only increase the prices of food, and certainly reduce variety and availability.
The current economic downturn has given rise to the 'recession diet', a term describing a reduction in household expenditure on food - something that in most cases will have negative consequences on the quality of an individual's diet.
To offer society access to a healthy diet, efforts must be made to ensure that fresh fruits and vegetables are affordable. European Commissioner John Dalli (Health and Consumer Policy) explained, "Efficient and innovative plant protection is one of the key factors in producing safe and healthy food at a reasonable price. This is to the benefit of consumers, farmers and industry across Europe".
