Global Vegetable Decline Threatens Dietary Health Worldwide

WHO:

ScienceAlert - Maarten van Zonneveld, agriculture scientist, led the research while working at the World Vegetable Center.

ScienceAlert - An international team of nutrition, agriculture, and botany experts contributed to the report.

WHAT:

ScienceAlert - A report published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests embracing vegetable biodiversity to improve health.

ScienceAlert - Most people consume around 40 percent fewer vegetables than recommended for a healthy diet.

ScienceAlert - Low vegetable consumption is among the top five dietary risk factors contributing to the global burden of disease.

ScienceAlert - The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 24 percent of the wild relatives of vegetables assessed at the species level are at risk of extinction.

ScienceAlert - The ongoing biodiversity loss affects over 1,480 vegetable species.

WHERE:

ScienceAlert - Spider plant is grown in Africa; slippery cabbage is popular in the Pacific; bitter gourd is found in Asia and the Caribbean.

WHEN:

ScienceAlert - The research was published in 2026.

WHY:

ScienceAlert - Existing agricultural approaches are insufficient to solve the world's nutrition problems.

ScienceAlert - Vegetables are often the first to be removed from grocery lists when money is tight, and farmers view them as a bigger economic risk due to perishability.

HOW:

ScienceAlert - The study assessed diversity in the primary edible parts across 79 major vegetable species listed in FAO's The Plants that Feed the World.

ScienceAlert - The researchers recommend growing more kinds of vegetables, including traditional varieties and their wild relatives, to diversify diets amid climate change.

(UPDATED August 9, 2026 16:05 UTC)

A new report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, led by agriculture scientist Maarten van Zonneveld and an international team of experts, emphasizes the importance of embracing vegetable biodiversity to enhance health. The study reveals that most people consume about 40 percent fewer vegetables than the recommended amount, contributing to low vegetable consumption being one of the top five dietary risk factors for global disease, while the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization warns that 24 percent of assessed wild vegetable relatives are at risk of extinction. To address these issues, the researchers advocate for growing a wider variety of vegetables, including traditional types and their wild relatives, to diversify diets and combat the ongoing loss of biodiversity affecting over 1,480 vegetable species.