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University of Guelph, Ontario:

'Not enough fruits, vegetables grown to feed the planet'

If everyone on the planet wanted to eat a healthy diet, there wouldn't be enough fruit and vegetables to go around, according to a new University of Guelph study.

Researchers concluded that the global agriculture system currently overproduces grains, fats and sugars, while production of fruits and vegetables and, to a smaller degree, protein is not sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the current population.

The researchers also found that shifting production to match nutritional dietary guidelines would require 50 million fewer hectares of arable land, because fruits and vegetables take less land to grow than grain, sugar and fat.

Sciencedaily.com reports how a team of researchers compared global agricultural production with nutritionists' consumption recommendations and found a drastic mismatch.

"We simply can't all adopt a healthy diet under the current global agriculture system," said study co-author Prof. Evan Fraser, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and director of U of G's Arrell Food Institute. "Results show that the global system currently overproduces grains, fats and sugars, while production of fruits and vegetables and, to a smaller degree, protein is not sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the current population."

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