Molecular breeding of healthy vegetables

In September 2010, a group of carrot growers in the USA announced a US$25 million marketing campaign to promote ‘cut and peel’ carrots—also known as ‘baby carrots’—with the slogan: “Eat ‘em like junk food”. The campaign is an attempt to break into the US$18 billion snack-food industry by “[t]aking a page out of junk food’s playbook and applying it to baby carrots” (Horovitz, 2010). It is neither the first nor only example of how food producers have tried to attract consumers with healthier meal choices including greens and fruits. Several food companies have recently introduced products that include ‘hidden’ vegetable servings in an attempt to provide vegetable-based nutrition by stealth. This approach could be beneficial for individual consumers and public health in general. A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control indicated that only 26% of adults in the USA eat vegetables three or more times per day, which is far short of the amount recommended by the US government more than one decade ago (Severson, 2010). Consumer interest in whole foods with enhanced nutritional qualities is at an alltime high, and more consumers are choosing foods on the basis of their healthy characteristics or direct labels that describe health benefits (Cappellano, 2009). This development is taking place amid increasing interest in locally grown food, farmers’ markets and sustainable farming practices (Clifford, 2010). The promotion of ‘healthy’ agricultural food products has therefore coincided with a surging consumer interest in the health functionality of food, particularly fruits and vegetables. It is difficult to tell whether marketing for health functionality is spurring this interest or vice versa. Nevertheless, today’s food market offers many whole foods that are perceived and promoted as ‘health functional’ because of their phytochemical constituents: lycopene, vitamins, isothiocyanates or polyphenols, to name just a few.