PDA

View Full Version : Call for cut-price fruit and veg



gertvegan
Sep 9th, 2004, 11:25 AM
Call for cut-price fruit and veg

Over 80% of people say the government should subsidise the cost of fruit and vegetables to encourage healthy eating, a BBC survey has shown.
ICM conducted a phone poll of 1,010 adults across England, Wales and Scotland.

Experts said the cost of fruit and veg did deter people from eating healthily.

The Healthy Britain poll also found a minority of people, 17%, felt the NHS should not provide treatment for obesity-related diseases.

Eighty-one per cent of those surveyed said the government should spend more on campaigns and support services to promote diet and exercise.

Many people backed measures which could cut childhood obesity.

Three quarters said junk food ads should not be shown between children's TV programmes and 60% supported a ban on supermarkets displaying sweets by check outs.

Vending machines ban

The poll showed schools are also expected to act. Eighty-nine per cent said there should be a legal obligation on them to ensure children ate healthily while they were at school.

The same percentage said the amount of exercise children were required to do under the National Curriculum should be increased.

Eighty per cent said the government should prevent schools from raising extra funds from vending machines which sell junk food and fizzy drinks.

A majority also supported the extension of the free fruit and vegetables scheme to all children. The scheme is currently available in some primary schools.

A third of those questioned felt parents who consistently failed to provide their children with a healthy diet should ultimately face prosecution.

When it came to adult health, 91% agreed the government should encourage people to walk and cycle by providing safer pavements and more cycle lanes.

Just over a third backed a tax on foods that are high in salt, sugar and fat. AND MEAT, WHAT ABOUT MEAT? (ok, so this wasn't in the article).

However, while 57% of those polled said it was right that the government should try to change people's behaviour in relation to what they eat, 65% think what people eat is up to them.

Paul Streets, Chief Executive, Health Development Agency said: "The findings of this poll are a clear signal that a stronger partnership for health between the government and the public is needed to reduce ill-health.

"Barriers such as the high cost of fresh fruit and vegetables and limited free access to sports facilities are preventing many people from leading a healthy lifestyle."

He added: "'We support the proposed restrictions on advertising to young children, but a coherent approach is needed that includes promotions in schools, sponsorship schemes and magazines."

slinkyvagabond
Sep 10th, 2004, 06:31 AM
Now if only your idiot neighbor government across the pond would take a lesson or two..

Gorilla
Sep 10th, 2004, 09:00 AM
i saw the news yesterday, a piece about people trying to lose weight (something in the BBC's Fat Nation season) and a guy said, 'you go into a shop, and a banana or an apple costs 50p or 60p, i'd rather spend the money on a chocolate bar'.

:confused: i know fruit and veg is expensive, especially organic, but i think he's exaggerating when he says one piece of fruit costs 50p!!! in my local supermarket they sell bananas for about 15p each. i don't think he's ever even bothered looking at the price of fruit. :( the guy admitted that he eats 8 chocolate bars A DAY - yes, 8 bars in one day. :( :( :(

SilverBird
Sep 14th, 2004, 09:50 AM
A few years ago I was in a supermarket and there was a woman close by, with children in tow ... the trolley was loaded up with all the typical rubbishy stuff like frozen junk foods, crisps, sugary cereals, sugary drinks, and so on ... one of the children asked if they could buy some apples ... the mother replied that fruit was too expensive! Well, an apple is priced at around 20p to 30p and a pack of big name crisps is around 30p so I'm not too sure how this woman arrived at the idea that fruit was expensive compared to the contents of her shopping trolley. This event comes to mind every time I'm buying fruit.

Trendygirl
Sep 14th, 2004, 08:59 PM
I don’t know what people are going on about. A vegan diet is so much cheaper than a meet eating diet. I’ve been a student living away from home without support from my family and I always have loads fruit and veg in the house. However if I am at a small café, fruit is so much more expensive than a bar of chocolate, that’s if it is even available. So I can’t blame people eating crap when they are on the run. It does wind me up though when my sister complains she is fat when she only buys junk food at the supermarket (she is a meat eater) and say’s that healthy food is too expensive, she would be able to afford it if she hadn’t bought all the junk food in the first place.

I guess that the people who are complaining about the price of fresh fruit and veg are the ones who have spent most of there money on expensive meat. Which by rights should cost much more than it does now, with all the subsides meat farmers get and environmental damage that they don’t pay to be corrected.