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Vegetables

Rise in extreme weather events putting huge strain on food charities helping struggling families

Food charities helping struggling families put food on the table can no longer rely on excess produce being available as farmers count their own cost of extreme weather events.
A handful of carrots.

Could farmers get a fairer deal with the supermarkets if there was a mandatory code of conduct?

The ACCC is investigating the disparity between supermarket check-out prices and farmgate prices and one thing it could recommend is a mandatory code of conduct. But would it make the market fairer for growers?
Shaun McInerney displaying boxes of fruit and veg

Why is an Australian tomato more expensive than a can flown around the world?

Shoppers have seen the price of local fruit and veg skyrocket, but canned produce remains relatively cheap. One expert says there are several worrying reasons for this. 
A woman inspects a tomato with a can of tomatoes in her other hand

Fed-up Aussie farmers shun supermarket giants and sell direct to consumers

Some Australian producers turn their backs on the major supermarkets because of what they say are unfair prices at the farm gate.
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A middle-aged man kneels in a field holding three freshly-picked zucchinis.

Consumers may face more hot-chip potato shortages as heatwaves become more widespread

The humble vegetables are susceptible to storms, heavy rainfall and high temperatures. Frequent extreme weather events make the crop vulnerable.
Terry Buckley kneels in a potato field holding some freshly harvested potatoes.

Supply of plums, peaches and nectarines in doubt as storms ravage stone-fruit orchards

Weeks of wild weather in Victoria is likely to mean less stone fruit on supermarket shelves, after hail and heavy rain smashed Australia's main production regions, costing growers millions of dollars in losses.
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Nectarines sitting on the ground in a puddle of dirty water

Pressure mounts for ACCC inquiry into alleged supermarket price gouging amid claim farmers paid 1978 prices

Grocery prices rose and major supermarkets made billion-dollar profits last year, but Bundaberg farmer Trevor Cross fears rock-bottom produce prices will force him to leave the industry he loves — and there are many others like him.
A barefoot man crouches in his field.

Farmer startups backing themselves to bring chocolate capsicum and other 'new fruit' to markets

From pink custard apples and sweeter capsicums that resemble the colour of chocolate, these Queensland farmers are working to bring innovative new varieties to supermarket shelves.
Man in workshirt looks at seedlings

An ambitious quest to supply Australians with locally grown garlic year-round is paying off

Garlic lovers can now buy Australian-grown all year round, thanks to decades of work by persistent farmers who refused to give up on the difficult crop.
man holding garlic out in a field

Minister for food proposed as farmers seek accountability for 'avalanche of bad ideas'

A year-long parliamentary inquiry focused on the future of Australia's food security recommends introducing a minister for food among its 35 recommendations to the federal government.
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Shelves of fresh produce at a grocery store - red capsicums, cauliflower, kale and cucumbers

Australia's largest canned vegetable producer is selling Thai corn in supermarkets

Simplot Australia, which owns brands including Edgell, says natural disasters have led to a shortage of Australian-grown vegetables, forcing it to look outside the country for supply.
A tin with a picture of yellow corn

Should we remove best-before dates on produce?

Advocates say a simple change would stop Australian households from unwittingly throwing out perfectly edible food, and they are banding together to get the regulator on board.
Plastic bag with the words '5 mini apples' on it, inside bag is mini apples

Food charity 'distressed' by dumped fruit, vegetables after Aldi launches new supermarket

The manager of a charity that organises food donations for people in need says she is "distressed" by the amount of produce a new Townsville supermarket has sent to landfill.
ABC News Current

Queensland farmer specialises in melons that you're unlikely to see on supermarket shelves

Shaun Jackson grows niche varieties of melons and, just as Australians are cutting back on fruit, an expanding Japanese market can't get enough of them.
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Daintree Fresh melons

This farmer never planned to grow asparagus — now he's putting it into ice cream

While he grew up on an asparagus farm, it took a pandemic-era career shift to turn Markum Boston into his home town's first grower of white asparagus.
A man lifting a tarp to reveal white asparagus growing underneath

Fancy fungi business takes off for tradie still learning the secrets of edible mushrooms

A Pemberton electrician is supplying up to 20 kilograms of fungi a week to shops and restaurants in a mushroom-growing side hustle that has been a process of trial and error.
A hand holding a small mushroom inside a cool room

How do we stay healthy during the high cost of living? Embrace the onion, dietician says

A dietician is encouraging more people to eat onions to boost good gut bacteria and increase their daily vegetable intake, with the added benefit that prices have remained stable despite inflation.
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Brown and red onions on display in grocery store

Australia's earliest garlic harvest has barely finished, but Joe is sowing seeds for the next generation

An Indigenous community harvesting Australia's earliest commercial garlic crop is hoping to pass on farming skills to improve the lives of future generations.
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A man stands with children dressed in blue shirts and hats around a blue tub filled with dirt covered garlic bulbs.

Millions of bees are dead as governments scramble to contain varroa mite, so why is the parasite still such a threat?

With bees responsible for pollinating much of the food we find at the supermarket and green grocer, authorities remain committed to trying to eradicate the recently introduced varroa mite before it gains too much of a foothold.
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Varroa mite nestled on a bee, with a blue circle identifying it on the body

Stephanie Alexander shares tips on making meals exciting for kids.

Stephanie Alexander has been in our kitchens for decades now, educating us on the many versatile ways of serving up deliciousness. The famous cook spoke with News Breakfast about her latest book, 'Fresh' - all about getting kids and adults alike into healthy cooking habits.
ABC News Current
Duration: 5 minutes 15 seconds

Australian culinary star Stephanie Alexander shares tips on making meals exciting for kids

Stephanie Alexander has been in our kitchens for decades now, educating us on the many versatile ways of serving up deliciousness. The famous cook spoke with News Breakfast about her latest book, 'Fresh' - all about getting kids and adults alike into healthy cooking habits.
ABC News Current
Duration: 5 minutes 15 seconds

How food trends might be contributing to food waste

Much like the fashion industry, food consumption follows trends, and a researcher is concerned about their effect on farmers.
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A fair-skinned woman, Renee, in black glasses and turquoise shirt holds a bunch of green asparagus in front of bee hives.

Queensland farmers have grown too many vegetables, but who's to blame?

Ideal growing conditions this year have seen the volume of vegetables in one of Australia's largest winter production regions skyrocket, leading to oversupply and low farmgate prices.
Paul Smith grocery shopping in the vegetable section of the supermarket

Organic vegetable consumers dig into cooperative alternative in SA's Riverland

Riverland consumers have another option to access fresh vegetables as a cooperative from the Adelaide Hill expands into new terrain.
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Vanessa Comley, a fair-skinned woman, in warm long covered clothes tends to green leafy vegetables at her farm.

Traders at Melbourne's Queen Victoria Markets 'blindsided' after being hit with fees

Traders at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne say they feel "blindsided" by management's decision to raise licence fees and hand back the cost of utilities, waste disposal and utilities to stallholders.
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Crowds at Melbourne's Queen Victoria Market.