Acting on one of the key recommendations from the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health held in September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an investment of $59.4 million to support produce prescriptions and nutrition incentive programs designed to encourage Americans to eat more healthfully by increasing access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

This investment by USDA is supported by studies that have shown the immense health benefits of providing fruit and vegetable prescriptions.  One study from Tufts University found that prescriptions for fruits and veggies would prevent 1.93 million cardiovascular events (such as heart attacks) and 350,000 deaths, as well as cut healthcare costs by $40 billion.

USDA’s program will provide incentives at the point of purchase among income-eligible consumers participating in USDA’s SNAP and income-eligible consumers participating in other USDA nutrition assistance programs.

With decades of nutritional studies confirming that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables prevents diseases, like cancer, diabetes and heart disease, boosts immunity and increases lifespan, initiatives and educational outreach to encourage consumption are imperative.  Especially since only one in 10 Americans consume enough produce each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Conversely, efforts by certain groups to promote one production method over others by promoting inaccurate safety fears should be abandoned.  One peer reviewed study has shown that these efforts results in low income consumers stating they are less likely to purchase any produce, organic or conventionally grown.

In light of current inflation levels, unfairly disparaging the safety of the more affordable and accessible fruits and vegetables is also increasingly detrimental to efforts to increase consumption.

Further government data show the impressive safety compliance levels achieved by farmers nationwide in growing our fruits and vegetables.  In fact, the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program found that over 99 percent of the fruits and vegetables sampled had residues well below Environmental Protection Agency safety standards, with a third having no detectable residues at all.  The Federal Food and Drug Administration’s sampling program had similar findings.

According to the USDA: “Based on the PDP data, consumers can feel confident about eating a diet that is rich in fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Read, learn, choose but eat more organic and conventional produce every day for better health and a longer life.