2021 Declared as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables by the UN

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The United Nations General Assembly has designated 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables. The rationale for this accolade is that the UN is keen on raising awareness about the significance of these edibles on improving the nutrition, food diversity range, and health of individuals.

Immunizing Diets

The outbreak of the pandemic has augmented interest in the consumption of immunity boosting food items, especially fruits and vegetables. The UN General Assembly has decided to capitalize on this growing concern around healthy food items as well as address the imminent issues of food security by designating this year to the consumption of fruits and vegetables. It also plans to improve the knowledge of people about the impact of these edibles on society, the economy, and the environment.

As the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has already mentioned, fruits and vegetables are exceptional sources of dietary fibers, vitamins and minerals as well as phytochemicals. They help augment the immunity levels of individuals. This in turn is instrumental in combatting diseases and illnesses. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also reiterated the same stance by stating that each adult should consume at least 400gms of these edibles per day to effectively prevent chronic diseases like cancer, cardiac illnesses, diabetes, obesity, and others.

A Diversified Focus

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the various supply chain issues of the fresh produce industry out into the open. In most developing countries, upto 50% of the total production of fruits and vegetables are lost due to their skewed supply chains. If this wastage remains unchecked, it will augment to much more staggering proportions than its present dimension. The UN’s FAO urges the use of innovative techniques and better approaches to counter this loss and maintain the quality of the produce. This will help improve the shelf life of the produce as well as enhance the nutritional value of the edibles. Moreover, given the global warming issues and the greenhouse gas emissions, reducing food wastage will significantly also reduce these emissions, the pressure on land and water resources as well as boost food security and productivity.