Fruit and Vegetable Trivia
(http://www.farmissues.com/pages/factsFruitsAndVegetables.php)
- The Yukon Gold potato was developed at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada
- The first Macintosh apple tree was discovered in Ontario, Canada in 1811
- One-third pound stalk of broccoli has more vitamin C than 204 apples
- The first fruit eaten on the moon was a peach
- Carrots were first grown as a medicine
- Carrots can be orange, white, yellow or purple
- Blueberries have more anti-oxidants than any other fruit or vegetable
- Hippocrates noted the medicinal properties of lettuce in 430BC
- Canada is the world's largest producer of wild blueberries
- Canadians have developed biodegradable packaging for fruits and vegetables which lasts for 14 days in the environment
Vegetables: Fun Facts
(http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0781697.html)
- Bell peppers are usually sold green, but they can also be red, purple or yellow.
- Tomatoes are very high in the carotenoid Lycopene; eating foods with carotenoids can lower your risk of cancer.
- Other vegetables high in carotenoids are carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, and collard greens.
- Most of the nutrients in a potato reside just below the skin layer.
- A horn worm can eat an entire tomato plant by itself in one day!
- In the United States, more tomatoes are consumed than any other single fruit or vegetable!
- California produces almost all of the broccoli sold in the United States.
- White potatoes were first cultivated by local Indians in the Andes Mountains of South America.
- Yams and sweet potatoes are not the same thing!
- A baked potato (with skin) is a good source of dietary fiber (4 grams).
- Actually a fruit, it took a ruling by the Supreme Court in 1893 to make the tomato a vegetable.
- Potatoes first appeared in Europe in 1586; they made it to North America in 1719.
- The potato disease “Late Blight” was the principal cause of the Irish Potato Famine, which killed a half million people.
- It is recommended that you eat five servings of fruit or vegetables a day. A serving equals one-half cup.
