Member-only story
Three Myths About Organic Food.
Listen to your mother and eat your veggies — organic or not.
11 min readMay 25, 2019
Your mom was right when she told you to eat your veggies. Around the world, we are failing to heed this advice, and paying for it — both in our health and in our national pocketbooks. The poor are failing the worst and paying the highest toll.
The statistics are alarming:
- Only 1 in 10 Americans consume the recommended number of daily servings of fruits and vegetables (1.5–2 cups fruit & 2–3 cups veggies for adults) [Source].
- Canadians (my home turf) are only slightly better off, at about 2 out of 10 getting enough fruits and veggies [Source].
The consequences of this shortfall are significant. A 2013 study estimates the economic burden of this low intake to be $4.4 billion in Canada (about 1/10 the US population) and that even modest increases could bring huge health and economic benefits. We can squabble about the exact number because it is based on so many assumptions, but I don’t think anyone would argue that most of us could benefit from eating more fruits and vegetables.
