News from The Underground

Which vegetable will make the best example as our nutrition guinea pig?

  • Which vegetable is most popular?
    • What nutrients do we expect to be obtaining from this vegetable?
    • Do these relate to any major deficiencies in the global population?

What did I find from this data:

  • Yawn, potatoes
  • I like the idea of broccoli as a test subject because it’s popular, green, and cruciferous (more on this later.) I’m still holding on to carrots as well.
  • People seem to be buying more veggies because they care about nutrition.
    • What does actual sales data say?
  • Organic is a can of worms that I will open later
  • People probably care where their food is coming from. I doubt people know what fair trade is. BUT – the power of labeling and mass categorization may be a powerful tool.

Data summary: (From a survey of 1,000 consumers from The Packer magazine, a produce industry publication.)

When asked which vegetables they had purchased in the past 12 months, the respondents said:

  1. Potatoes
  2. Tomatoes
  3. Onions
  4. Carrots
  5. Broccoli

Some other responses:

  • 6 in 10 are more likely to buy a vegetable when listed as “fair trade”
  • 70% of shoppers said they are buying more produce
    • 75% of these consumers said they were buying more produce for “better nutrition”

Why do consumers choose organic produce?

  • 60% to avoid chemicals
  • 48% for nutrient content / personal health
  • 34% environmental responsibility

Additionally, 57% of all respondents said they would buy organic if price was no object.