The impact of increasing vegetable consumption on health expenditure

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has estimated that approximately 93% of Australian adults do not meet the recommended 5 serves of vegetables per day. Overall, the average Australian eats 2.3 serves of vegetables per day, which is less than half the recommended amount. There is also a marked difference in consumption between men and women with only 3.8% of males consuming adequate vegetables compared to 10.2% of females.

Deloitte Access Economics was commissioned by Horticulture Innovation Australia to model the impact that increased vegetable consumption would have on reducing government health expenditure and the returns to producers as a result of the increased consumption. This report is intended to provide a ‘case for change’ for increasing the level of vegetable consumption in Australia.