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State among highest in local use of fresh produce.

July 23, 2013

2 Min Read

A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report lists Oregon as a state among those highest in consumption of vegetables and fruits.

That's good news for the industry in the midst of harvesting many of the produce crops the state's citizens like to consume.

"This report is really good news about the nutritional health of Oregonians," notes Stephanie Page, special assistant to the director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. "Oregon has the highest medium intake of vegetables among all states – that means the highest number of times per day that an adult is eating vegetables .

"Oregon is also among the highest in fruit consumption. I'm not surprised by the good numbers. There is a lot of interest among partners in agriculture and health advocacy to promote fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet."

The CDC report, "State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables 2013," provides state level information on fruit and vegetable consumption by adults along with environmental and policy indicators that support consumption.

Overall, fruit and vegetable consumption is low throughout the U .S., but Oregon and its neighboring states score high in many categories.

Vegetable consumption is where Oregon beats all states.  The report says that Oregon adults consume vegetables nearly twice a day. Washington and Idaho are not far behind.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are Mississippi, Iowa and the Dakotas where citizens eat vegetables only about 1.5 times a day.

The report does not  list how many vegetables are consumed at each of the times, nor identify the vegetables by name.

It appears Oregonians are more likely than consumers in other states to select vegetables when they are hungry.

In fruit consumption, California, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont  are top consumers at 1.3 times a day. Oregon, Washington and Idaho citizens consume fruits about 1.1 times each day.

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