Inflation, the weighing scam, the increase in prices in supermarkets, the increase in the average price of the shopping basket, processed products… So many elements which play an important role in the health of the French, and above all on their consumption of fruits and vegetables. It would also be young people, as revealed by BFMTV in an article on March 5, 2024, who would be the least likely to consume it on a daily basis, to the point of not recognizing some of them. Thus, the Harris Interactive study, conducted online on February 20 and 21, 2024 (on a sample of 1,058 people aged 15 and over) and entitled “The French and daily diet”, revealed that nearly one in five young people would not be able to recognize a zucchini. More precisely, after seeing a photo of a zucchini, 18% of respondents (aged 15 to 24) said they recognized a cucumber, and 2% an eggplant. Among people aged over 24, also interviewed on the same images, the results are not great either: 11% were unable to recognize the zucchini, and 10% confused it with a cucumber.
A lack of knowledge linked to the meager consumption of fresh products
On the fruit side, the results seem a little better. As BFMTV reports: “Grapefruit is confused with a blood orange by 16% of French people”When “among young people under 25”12% make the mistake. How can we explain such a lack of knowledge regarding these products which, for the most part, tend to grow on French soil?, and are produced by farmers? Quite simply through cooking, which is becoming less and less part of everyday life in homes. Among those interviewed, Only 46% say they cook fresh produce like zucchini and cucumber every day or almost every day. And when we look at the youngest, the figures drop to 31%. A choice which is not always voluntary, because as the study shows, 95% of French people surveyed would like to consume more fresh products if they could. Among younger people, the trend is the same with 92% of those surveyed who would like to cook more fresh vegetables every day.