Idon’t think anyone is surprised at the news that vegetable consumption has plummeted in the UK. We’re eating less veg than at any time in the last 50 years, since 1974 when the Family Food Survey – led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) – began. Given that more than half our diet is now made up of ultra-processed food (UPFs), something else had to give.

While not a great shock, the news is a tragedy. What of the government’s five-a-day messaging, a drum it’s been beating for decades, that many even thought too modest? And what of the efforts of so many cooks and campaigners, who have urged us to eat more plants for years, from their soapboxes, TV shows and cookbooks?

Less veg, in this case, means we’re eating around 1kg of fresh or processed vegetables eac

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