Is 2011 the Year of the Vegetable?

According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control, only 26% of Americans eat at least three servings of vegetables a day. But with an increasing number of farmers markets and growing interest in locally-grown produce, vegetable appreciation in the U.S. seems to be at an all-time high.

Last week the Wall Street Journal declared 2011 the Year of the Vegetable. Do you agree?

In November New York Magazine wrote about vegetables' recent popularity, from the rise of the Meatless Monday campaign to Sotheby's first heirloom-vegetable auction, coining a new term to describe vegetable lovers:

[V]egivores, a term that connotes fervid vegetable love rather than ardent meat hate. It’s a subtle but important distinction. For the vegivore, a vegetable can occupy the center of the plate, with meat adding flavor or functioning as a condiment.

We understand the sentiment, even if we're not so keen on the cutesy label. And while we can do without the $275 prix fixe vegetable tasting menus mentioned in the article, we do have a deep love for vegetables and are hopeful public interest in eating vegetables — not only because they are healthy but also because they are tasty! — will continue growing in 2011 and beyond.

Read the articles:
• 2011: The Year of the Vegetable - Wall Street Journal
• Vegetables Are the New Meat - New York Magazine

Are you a fellow veggie lover? Have you noticed an increased interest in vegetables?

(Image: Anjali Prasertong)

Comments (7)

Vince, my Italian father was the same way when he arrived here, couldn't believe the plasticity and artificiality of the produce. He'd always talk about the profumo of Italian produce, something which can be experienced even in supermarkets. I've only found that experience here at farmer's markets or co-op markets with organic produce.

I had a similar experience moving from Toronto to Edmonton. It's near impossible to grow vegetable in Zone 2a, so everything is shipped. People here actually believe that clementines are green, ans tomatoes have the consistency and flavour of mealy potatoes. Fortunately, there are some green houses and farmer's markets where the lovely farmers of BC make the trip over the mountains to bring us real produce.

I love love love vegetables with an unusual zeal. I eat kale in chip and massaged salad form like a fiend- I easily go through 3-4 bunches per week on my own. I routinely eat salads, soups, and vegetable sautees that just bring out the very best flavours possible from vegetables in their simplicity. Kale and criminis with garlic, lemon, a splash of tamari, and black olives and spicy marinated eggplant were my dinner last night.

I think 2011 SHOULD be the year of the vegetable. Half of me wants to rejoice, the other half worries about competition for the good stuff while we wait for the supply chain to respond.

Lets make it the year of the vegetable garden!

@lazy_lurker: I'm with you! Everyone who has a yard should have a garden, even if it's just a couple of tomato plants and some herbs. It's amazing what a difference it makes in your life.

The Year of the Vegetable for me was at least 3 years ago. I wanted to get more vegetables into mine and the husband's diet. I was also convinced that people don't really "hate" veggies, they just don't know how to cook them. I grew up with a choice of frozen corn or frozen broccoli nightly.

I took the time to educate myself on how to cook different veggies, wanting to be able to buy things I saw in the market and actually know what to do with them. The resolutions that came out of that time period are still sticking with us - we eat a serving of fruit with breakfast every day. We eat a salad before dinner every night and we cook a different vegetable dish to go with dinner every night.

The year of the vegetable for me was about eight years ago. My own move toward vegetarianism, mostly for economic and ecological reasons, was coinciding with a greater trend toward organic foods. At the time, organic food really meant organic vegetables, since organic meat was so much more rare and expensive.

Then a few years ago, the increased availability of pasture-raised organic meats appeared to cause a swing in the other direction. Eco-conscious folks like me suddenly felt ok with eating more meat, and it gradually pushed aside not only protein rich beans and nuts but a whole range of necessary vegetables.

Now that I've been sufficiently reintroduced to the awesomeness of meat, I think it can be cut -- along with dairy -- back to its rightfully supportive role to plants. It might not be the year of the vegetable, but it's certainly a year of the vegetable, and I'm looking forward to it.

I love veggies more than meat.
But moving from farm country to a suburb meant it's much harder to find quality veggies at decent prices (farmers markets in these parts should be ashamed of themselves). I hope this becomes the year of the veggie, I really do!