Despite everything we hear about the importance of a balanced diet consisting of five to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, Canadians are dropping year by year, the vegetables, according to a study published today by Statistics Canada. However, according to available data, Canadians bought by eating more fresh fruit. Indeed, in 2004, Canadians consumed an average 37.6 kg of fresh fruit, a slight increase from 37.1 kg in 2003. The apple remains the favorite fruit of Canadians, closely followed by banana and orange. On the garden side, the consumption of fresh vegetables fell for a third consecutive year, from 77.4 kg per person in 2002 to 75.7 kg in 2003 to 74.8 kg in 2004. The potato wins hands down the palm of the most consumed vegetable in Canada, with 35.4 kg per person. The fresh lettuce and tomato followed far behind with respectively 6.6 kg and 5.0 kg consumed per person.
