The Fruit & Vegetable 
Consortium is a coalition of Australia’s leading health professionals, researchers and horticulture industry groups. Focusing on securing a happier, healthier and wealthier Australia, it is calling on governments, growers, manufacturers, retailers and health insurers to support a long-term behavior change in Australians. This will become possible by collaborating and advocating for investment in national marketing and education programs that will inspire Australians to eat more vegetables to live a healthier life.
The Fruit & Vegetable Consortium (FVC) has developed a business case that demonstrates: that every $1 invested in a behavior change program to increase vegetable consumption results in a $10 return on investment. Also, if Australians ate 10 per cent extra vegetables every day (less than ¼ of a serve), there would be a $100 million reduction in health expenditure per annum.
It has stated that Australians eating an extra half a serve of vegetables per day would -conservatively- generate an incremental increase in returns to Aussie growers and supply chain partners of $634 million per annum, which is shared by all parties along the food supply chain.
Increasing vegetable consumption will lead to improved health and well-being outcomes that drive reductions in mental and physical health issues, obesity and other illnesses, which will generate as much as $1 billion economic value after 11 years to Australian taxpayers and Governments at all levels.
The FVC has recently appointed Justine Coates as Managing Director, with responsibility for leading strategic direction, garnering public and private sector support, fundraising, structuring of investments and delivery of program initiatives. “We need to act now – Australia is now the 5th most obese country in the world and our health outcomes are not improving. We know that this problem is too big tackle alone, and there is increased momentum and support behind our call to arms,” said Ms Coates told miragenews.com.