Veggiecation was developed from the passionate belief that nutrition is one of the most relevant and critical subjects to be taught. It is the one issue that every person will need to address a minimum of three times a day, everyday for his or her entire life. Food choices have an impact on every part of a person’s being: physical health and disease prevention, growth and development, energy and thought process, self-esteem and body image, as well as, mood and behavior. Yet, as important an issue as nutrition is, it is commonly ignored by education and disregarded by most people.

Veggiecation seeks to shine a spotlight on this crucial topic and demonstrate how simple and delicious healthy eating can be.

Let’s take a look at the impact that the lack of nutrition education has had on American society.

• Cancer was the second leading cause of death in American in 2006; resulting in 559,888 deaths. (Heron et al, 2009)
• The strongest evidence for protecting against cancer shows that eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day is most effective. (Steinmetz, 1996)
• Children are found to consume three or fewer servings of vegetables a day (Nicklas et al., 2001).
• More than 9 million American children 6–19 years old are overweight or obese. This is 3 times the number in 1980. An additional 8.4 million are at risk of becoming overweight. (CDC, 2004)
• Childhood obesity rates have more than doubled for children 2–5 years old and adolescents 12–19 years old over the past three decades. In this time, these rates have more than tripled for children 6–11 years old. (CDC, 2004)
• Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. This increases to 80 percent if one or more parent is overweight or obese. (USDHHS, 2007)
• Annual hospital costs for obesity-related diseases in children has tripled over two decades. From $35 million in 1979–1981 to $127 million in 1997–1999. (IOM, 2004)
• Almost 1/3 of American children 4 to 19 years old eat fast food every day. This can translate to 6 added pounds per year, per child. (IOM, 2004)
• Fast food consumption has increased fivefold among children since 1970. (Bowman et al, 2004)