Des Moines Register
05-30-06
Good for Iowans' health — and the state's economy
Study: Eat enough of 'em, buy locally grown
By ANNE FITZGERALD
REGISTER AGRIBUSINESS WRITER
Iowa State University researchers have developed a way to boost economic and
nutritional health: If Iowans ate the recommended five to seven fruits and
vegetables daily and bought fresh produce from Iowa farmers whenever
possible, they would pump hundreds of millions of dollars annually into the state's
economy.
Just one in five Iowans consumes the daily dose of fruits and vegetables that
government food and nutrition specialists say adults need, a new ISU study says.
If the other Iowans ate an apple, some carrots, spinach, squash and tomatoes or some similar combination - every day and bought Iowa-raised fruits and
vegetables three months of the year, the report shows, they could generate
annually an additional:
• $302.4 million in economic activity.
• 4,094 jobs.
• $112.6 million in labor income.
The combination of buying locally and improving nutrition could give new
meaning to building Iowa's bioeconomy, ISU researchers who contributed to the
study said recently.
"We could see improved diet in Iowa, and we could see a net gain in economic
impact for the state," said Rich Pirog, marketing and food systems program
leader for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at ISU.
The report was authored by Dave Swenson, an associate scientist in ISU's
economics department. The Leopold Center's Regional Food Systems Working
Group commissioned the report. Pirog was one of three reviewers and editors.
The report's projections are hypothetical, Swenson and Pirog said. They also
said the size of the figures surprised them, but attributed that, in part, to how few
Iowans consume the recommended daily amounts of fruits and vegetables. Also
contributing to the report's findings is the fact that the vast majority of fruit and
vegetables consumed in Iowa come from out of state, they said.
The researchers also cautioned that the horticulture industry would have to
overcome numerous barriers to supply so much of Iowans' fresh produce.
Developing the industry would require increased consumer education,
infrastructure improvements and changes in public policy, including expansion of
government support for growers.
Public education is key to increasing the market for Iowa-raised fruits and
vegetables, said Heidi Mullins, a Winterset grower who sells fresh produce at
several central Iowa farmers markets.
Although the growing season had just begun, potential customers at last week's
Valley Junction market asked where her sweet corn and watermelon were.
"That's the biggest barrier we face," she said.
Eating veggies, fruits can pay off
Iowa State University researchers found a way to boost Iowa's economy and
improve consumers' health. A report written by Dave Swenson, an associate
scientist for the ISU economics department, and edited by Rich Pirog of the
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at ISU states that if Iowans ate
the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables and bought locally
grown produce, it could generate more than $302 million in economic activity. To
read the report and download the "health 0606" PDF file.