WHILE more accustom to munching on roses, Dorothy the Dinosaur has thrown her support behind eating more vegetables and fruit.
The beloved children's character helped launch the Produce Market Association's latest consumer marketing campaign, "Pick Right. Feel Bright" at its Fresh Connections event in Melbourne last month.
The conference and trade show attracted some 1200 people including growers, wholesalers, researchers, industry group representatives and marketers.
The new healthy eating campaign was one of the event's major launches and aims to of awaken Australians and New Zealanders to the health benefits of picking more fresh produce as part of a healthy diet.
While targeted at people of all ages, genders and walks of life, PMA A-NZ has engaged the help of Australian children's group, The Wiggles, to get the message out to children.
Industry statistics show 24 per cent of Australian children and 36pc of New Zealand children are overweight or obese.
PMA A-NZ marketing manager Renee Harrison said the industry has a responsibility to itself, its families, its countries and people all around the world to ensure healthy messages are being heard and responded to.
"The fresh produce industry is providing the product that is needed to change the current trajectory and I strongly believe that we need to be at the forefront of this movement," Ms Harrison said.
