The Israeli ministry of agriculture incombination with the office of public health is seeking to increase theconsumption of fruits and vegetables and improve their image as a healthyalternative to sweet and salted snacks. The campaign which will be launched inthe coming month will encourage both adding fruits and vegetables to meals aswell as encouraging their consumption in between meals. The initiative is expectedto improve public health as well as act as support for local agriculture.
Minister of agriculture Uri Ariel commentedthat “the importance of increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables issplit in two. The first half is to strengthen our farmers and empower Israeliagriculture, and the second half is simply because it is healthier.”
The campaign will place special focus onincreasing consumption among children, since they can benefit the most from thehealth benefits as well as develop long lasting habits. Currently, surveys showthat only 21% of Israeli children eat fruits and vegetables as snacks betweenmeals, while 6% of children don’t eat any fruits and vegetables at all on aregular basis. A public health professor from the ministry of health explainedthat “the consumption of fruits and vegetables should be increased almostindefinitely, to put it plainly ‘all you can eat’. This recommendation isprovided universally and is supported by health organizations worldwideincluding WHO and FAO.”
According to the ministry of agriculture,the campaign is already fully funded and will include TV and radio advertising,as well as written and educational content.
Source: themarker.com