At all times, but especially during moments of uncertainty and major change, it is essential to prioritize self-care, so we can be our best selves for our families, colleagues, and communities. This all begins with what we put in our bodies. Fueling our bodies with more fruits and vegetables is a natural way to gain and retain energy and boost our immune systems. When considering the wealth in health, some direct benefits of nourishing the body with a variety of powerful produce are increased levels of protein and folic acid in legumes, Vitamin C from cauliflower, peppers, or broccoli. And the leafy greens in your salad? They are filled with compounds such as sulforaphane, which may help prevent cancer.
While the health benefits of fruits and vegetables are many, only one in ten adults in the United States are getting enough produce in their daily diet. Across the globe, 60 to 87 percent of adults are falling short of the recommended daily intake. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends adults consume a minimum of 400 grams or five servings of fruits and vegetables per day to lead a healthy and nutritious life. So how can we create a better system to propel health and nutrition?
It starts with growers, who are at the center of our global food chain. It is critical that farmers have the tools they need to grow nutritious, delicious produce to meet the diverse needs of today’s families around the globe.
Enabling access to fresh fruits and veggies
At Bayer, one of many ways we advance human health and nutrition is through our Vegetable Seeds business. We work together with farmers to provide them with tools to help them get healthy and delicious fruits and vegetables on people’s plates. From greenhouse or glasshouse growers providing year-round access to food, to smallholder farmers responsible for feeding 80 percent of communities in Asia, Africa, and South America, we serve farmers of all sizes and growing environments, working to increase food security and ensure food quality, safety, and convenience for all.
By combining our knowledge of plants with the power of human ingenuity, we are developing new varieties of fruits and vegetables incorporating not just the agronomic traits important for farmers to grow a healthy crop, but qualities such as appearance and taste that affect the retail and consumer experience. With our Vegetable Seeds teams are focused on creating greater choice and nutritional value for consumers around the world.
For example, our snacking peppers pack a nutritious punch without sacrificing flavor, while some of our varieties of cauliflower stay white longer on the shelves, making them more appealing to shoppers and easier for farmers to identify during harvest.
The plant breeding advances within every seed we sell help farmers continue to improve upon what they’ve done for thousands of years, even in the face of significant challenges like a changing climate, limited natural resources, and reduced arable land, as well as increased demands in difficult times.
For more than 150 years, Bayer has improved people’s lives by advancing health and nutrition through science and innovation. And looking ahead, we are committed to continuing to support farmers by ensuring access to high-quality and nutritious food in light of a changing climate and growing population. Enriching our diets with essential key nutrients found in fruits and veggies is essential now more than ever. Let’s thrive together and thrive forward.