| ||||
| ||||
-----Original Message-----hi, i am lee woods and i really enjoy all of your info. so a little from me,,,, broccoli grows all around me, i live in Monterey county, Calif..and broccoli is really good for you.. just thought i would say Hi........my husband's cancer has now spread into his glands in his neck,,,,,,so it is in both lungs and brain and neck glands and he is in no pain , thank the good Lord...Please say a prayer for him.. thanks.Lee
From: Lee Woods <fishgrama@redshift.com>
To: mol-cancer@lists.meds.com <mol-cancer@lists.meds.com>
Date: Tuesday, April 13, 1999 7:45 PM
Subject: Re: [MOL] Broccoli Boost ! Hmmm, Hmmm, Good !Lillian wrote:
Broccoli Gets Popularity BoostWASHINGTON - The Associated Press via NewsEdge Corporation : Watch out Mr. Bush! Broccoli is making a comeback.
After lackluster sales in the early 1990s, the vegetable once deemed by the former president as his least favorite is gaining in popularity with consumers.
One factor may be well-publicized studies showing broccoli sprouts may help prevent cancer because they are loaded with a concentrated form of sulforaphane, a powerful cancer fighter.
A second explanation is convenience, says Gary Lucier, an economist with Agriculture Department's economic research service.
Full of vitamins and nutrients, the pre-cut and packaged fresh broccoli products fit right into the schedules and on the plates of today's busy families.
``People are time pressed,'' Lucier said. ``They're always looking for ways to save time. Because broccoli growers recognized that, they came up with a range of convenience items, broccoli florets, broccoli cole slaw.''
``The convenience aspect and the nutritional aspects. . . people are going to go to any lengths for that,'' Lucier said.
The Agriculture Department reports revenue for the broccoli industry has risen 24 percent in recent years.
Retail prices for fresh broccoli in 1998 were about $1.10 a pound, a 12 percent increase from the previous year. Because of the renewed demand for broccoli, the fresh market price has jumped 27 percent since 1995, the USDA says.
The average American ate 5.6 pounds of fresh broccoli last year compared with 3.4 pounds in 1992, as well as 2.1 pounds of frozen broccoli products. The combined total of 7.7 pounds compares with 5.8 pounds in 1992.
The department reports 84 percent of broccoli consumers said they had purchased pre-cut broccoli florets in the last year.
Gene Grabowski, spokesman for the Washington-based Grocery Manufacturers of America _ the largest association for food and consumer product companies _ said a recent consumer survey done for the association found that convenience in food products was second only to taste. Nutrition ranked third followed by price.
``Whether it's the big family portions or the small servings it's all about convenience,'' Grabowski said.
Making healthy foods convenient has worked for other vegetables too, such as lettuce and carrots.
Lettuce, once sold just by the head, now can be found in convenient pre-cut packages. Baby carrots are packaged for that consumer wanting a fast but healthy snack.
In 1998, Americans ate about 13.6 pounds of carrots each and 7.4 pounds of leaf and romaine lettuce, compared to 8.3 and 4.7 pounds in 1992, Lucier said.
``The convenience aspect of vegetables has become a pretty large industry,'' Lucier said.
Vegetable grower Boskovich Farms in Oxnard, Calif., which leads the states in broccoli production, has seen its business for pre-cut broccoli grow in the last five years, company officials said. The prepackaged product at Boskovich Farms is sold to restaurants and institutions.
``More restaurants use it because it's faster and it's easier,'' said marketing manager Lindsay Martinez. ``There's less cleanup. You don't have ice which is shipped with carton broccoli and can be real messy.''
``The taste is going to better than frozen and you don't have additional cooking time you would have with frozen,'' Martinez said. ``It's just easier for the operations to use.''
[©1999, Associated Press]
|
