FAO launches social media challenges to get region to eat more fruits and veggies

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has launched a series of social media challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean to raise awareness about the important role of fruits and vegetables in nutrition, food security, and health.

The launch comes on the heels of the recent observation of Earth Day on April 22 and 2021 being designated by the United Nations the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables (IYFV), which is being observed under the theme “Fruits and vegetables, your dietary essentials.”

In a news release, the FAO said the need for the production and consumption of healthy and nutritious food remains at the forefront of discussions and efforts to ensure a healthy planet and the health of all people.

Against this background, Renata Clarke, FAO Subregional Coordinator, is quoted as saying that the social media challenges present an educational and interactive way to encourage the consumption of fruits and vegetables.

With the alarming cases of childhood obesity and diabetes across the region, Clarke believes the challenges not only provide an opportunity for learning, but for behavioural changes in food consumption, which can lead to healthier lives.

“Since the first COVID19 pandemic lockdown in 2020, access to fruits and vegetables was a concern for many persons who started planting their own food and setting up backyard gardens to ensure their food supply was adequate and readily available. We also noted that many parents involved their children in backyard farming as a fun outdoor activity who had to find creative ways of educating their children as schools remained closed,” she further noted.

Experts have recommended a daily intake of least 400 g of fruits and vegetables.

There are four challenges: The #BackyardChallenge, the #UglyFruitChallenge, the #Namethefruitchallenge or #Namethevegchallenge and the #Tastethefruitchallenge or #Tastethevegchallenge.

For the #BackyardChallenge, persons are encouraged to share a creative 60-second video/photo of the fruits or vegetables harvested from their gardens using the hashtags #IYFV2021 and #Backyardchallenge.

For the #UglyFruitChallenge, persons are encouraged to share a creative 60-seconds video of a dish prepared from ‘ugly fruit or vegetable’ using the hashtags #IYFV2021 and #Uglyfruitchallenge. In this challenge, if persons are eating fruits that look ugly to others, they are invited to share a creative 60-second video using the hashtags.

In the #Namethefruitchallenge or #Namethevegchallenge, persons are encouraged to share a creative 60-second video identifying a fruit or vegetable by looking at a photo or the actual fruit or vegetable and try to guess the name, using the hashtags #IYFV2021 and #Namethefruitchallenge or #Namethevegchallenge.

The #Tastethefruitchallenge or #Tastethevegchallenge will see persons tasting a fruit or vegetable blind-folded and then identify either based on the taste in a video of 60 seconds or less.

The FAO said all four challenges are open to the public and persons may participate as often as they wish by posting their photos and videos on all social media platforms using the hashtags and tagging the FAO social media accounts (Twitter - @FAOAmericas @FAOCaribbean; Facebook https://www.facebook.com/UNFAO/; Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@fao; and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fao/).

More information can also be found on FAO’s website at http://www.fao.org/americas/caribe/en/.