How much does it cost?

[Fuzzball]

From our government, using 6 year old prices and specifically excluding anything labeled organic:

How Much Do Americans Pay for Fruits and Vegetables?
By Jane Reed, Elizabeth Frazão, and Rachel Itskowitz


Agriculture Information Bulletin No. (AIB790) 39 pp, July 2004

This analysis uses ACNielsen Homescan data on 1999 household food purchases from all types of retail outlets to estimate an annual retail price per pound and per serving for 69 forms of fruits and 85 forms of vegetables. Among the forms we priced, more than half were estimated to cost 25 cents or less per serving. Consumers can meet the recommendation of three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables daily for 64 cents.

Report Found Right here (http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib790/)

Individual Fruits and Vegetable costs found here (http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fruitvegetablecosts/) , how close are they to the cost you are paying?

It's sad that they had to specifically exclude Organics, but if you double the price for the age of the data and the difference between Organic and Non-Organic, we still make out pretty good at $1.28 per day.

But somehow, I don't believe it....seems higher in the real world.

[PixieGreen]

Their "servings" must be very small. They say an average fresh serving of apple costs .22. This I can believe, I can get apples 8/$1 at the hispanic market. But a papaya at .17/ serving? For what, an 8th of a fruit? Fresh mango at .20/ serving? Their recommended nutritional requirements are so low it scews their conclusion. That said, it would be real progress if all Americans ate at least their recommended amounts.

No wonder they consider raw foodists extreme. I love my raw fajitas, one serving includes 2-3 big portabella mushrooms, 2 bell peppers, 2 carrots, and a whole onion, sometimes a tomato. Off the usda charts!

Christa

[sport]

They should come and look at the prices of organic fruit here in Ireland and it will be more than off their scale. I think that you guys are so lucky with your prices and the variety of stuf that you can get across the pond. Pity us poor souls having to improvise.

[levamssg]

Well, ONE organic avocado was priced at $2.99 today at Whole Food market. (I eat two avocados per day)

Last week I purchased two conventional avocados and one container of plum tomatoes ... and the price was over $5.00.

So both conventional and organic seem a Lot pricier than what they have listed in their cost/serving/day.

[valencia]

Thanks for posting. I had to read the full report to see the problems with this study.

Here is the fruit summary:

"1/2 cup each of cut, fresh watermelon and apple, a little less than 1/2 cup of grapefruit juice, and 1/8 cup of raisins. Together these fruits supply over 75 percent of the daily value of vitamin C for 150 calories and less than 1 gram of fat."

These are ok, but not great. I would not consider raisins or grapefruit juice ideal choices. These pics were probably among the least nutrient dense of all fruits. Raisins are practically pure sugar, not very different from table sugar, and of course grapefruit juice is virtually devoid of fiber and the beneficial parts of the rind that one gets when one eats the whole fruit.

Their vegetable summary:

"Four servings of vegetables, with one serving from each of the four subgroups, can be obtained for an additional 27 cents. This includes 1/2 cup each of fresh carrots, broccoli fleurets, potatoes, and cabbage. Totaling just 75 calories, this combination provides 100 percent of the daily value for vitamins A and C, and 15 percent of fiber."

The potato serving is making up the bulk of those 75 calories. One is left with approximately 25 calories from vegetables which make up most of the price. Does anyone really believe that 25 calories of non-starchy vegetables per day is going to make much of a real difference in disease prevention and health? Maybe for scurvy. For CHD, most cancers, type II diabetes, macular degeneration, etc. and an aim of glowing health, not a chance.

Sometimes I am ashamed of my government for producing such rot. Let them tell the truth for once and for all. Let's see them do the same study, but with a real aim to promote health: up the ante to at least 25% of daily calories from vegetables (40-50% would be better) and at least 30% from fruit, excluding dried, canned, or juiced fruits, and excluding plain potatoes.

Edited to add:

Their broccoli fleuret measure was 1/14.4 th of a pound! That's about 1.1 ounces.

[cattzeye]

Yes, these government studies are kind of humourous to read. The serving sizes they recommend definitely wouldn't work for me! I would actually starve on the amount of food they suggest. Of course, they are assuming that you also are eating meat, dairy, etc, in addition to these miniscule servings of fruits and vegetables. I suppose with all that extra animal protein and fat, you wouldn't have much stomach room left over for produce.

However, one thing I think is good about this study, is they are trying to get the message out there that eating fresh plant food is not only healthy, but can be much less costly than the SAD of lots of meat and dairy. If it even encourages one person to add more fruit and veggies to their diet, it is worthwhile.

Christine