September is National Fruit and Vegetable Month when we celebrate the only food group health experts universally agree we should eat more of every day.

National Fruit and Vegetable Month presents an opportunity to come together with one clear message for consumers – eating more fruits and veggies each day is always the right and healthy choice.  Buy what produce you and your family enjoys, is accessible and affordable because a diet rich in fruits and vegetables maintains healthy immune function, prevents disease and leads to a longer life.

It is that simple.  Let’s stop with confusing and competing produce “lists,” which attempt to promote one production method over another.  And, let’s stop with misguided fear-based messaging which studies have shown discourages consumers from purchasing of any produce.

The Alliance for Food and Farming has many nutrition and safety resources available for National Fruit and Vegetable Month. These include:

• The “A Dozen Reasons” webpage with nutrition information for popular produce items and some fun facts too. (Also available as an infographic.)
• “Five Facts About Produce” webpage which provides a quick overview of produce nutrition and safety. (Also available as an infographic.)
• A webpage which focuses on two impactful nutrition studies from Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition. According to the researchers from Tufts, these new findings support the concept of “food is medicine” and the need to increase availability and consumption of these “protective” foods to improve public health.
• A new website section for dietitians which provide resources to help them reassure their clients and consumers about the safety of all produce – organic and conventional.
• Our science section with peer reviewed studies, including one study that found 20,000 cancer cases could be prevented annually if half of all Americans increased their consumption of fruits and vegetables by a single serving.

With only one in 10 Americans eating enough fruits and vegetables each day, there is much work to do.  So during National Fruit and Vegetable Month, let’s all unify under the “Eat More Every Day” message to help dietitians, public health officials and others who work diligently each day to improve the diets of Americans.  Abandoning misleading safety messaging would be a strong step since 95% of dietitians agree that fear-based messaging about produce safety negatively impacts their ability to increase consumption among their clients and consumers.

Finally, let’s support consumer choice.  Whether they choose organic or conventional or choose to shop at their local grocery store, corner market, farmers’ market, warehouse store, or CSA.  Whatever is best for them and their families is the right and correct choice.  A cart or basket full of produce should always be celebrated and never questioned.