VegElection2023 : Vote for the best and worst vegetables in NZ

Yates is keen for Kiwis to vote for their favourite vegetables in the inaugural VegElection 2023.

As New Zealand prepares to go to the polls, the reputation of the country’s favourite vegetables is at stake in the inaugural VegElection, Yates says.

As a democratic nation, the time was now to stand up and be heard, the gardening company said.

Ticking the box in the vegetable election will determine the country’s favourite and most despised vegetables.

From the nation’s cherished classics to the vegetables that have been much maligned, New Zealanders will get the opportunity to have their say and finally put it on record.

Will tomatoes claim the crown or will Brussels sprouts clinch an unlikely victory?

Is kale a new-age superfood or just cow castoffs?

Fiona Arthur from Yates said as everyone geared up for the national election – and the all-important inaugural VegElection - Kiwi gardeners were prepping, mulching and weeding to get gardens ready for the summer veggie crops.

“We’re hoping people can park the political discourse for a moment and think potatoes, peas and parsnips.

“Love them or hate them, vegetables are crucial to a healthy diet and with such a huge range of colours, flavours and textures, every vegetable has its moment in the sun.

“You can’t tell me you don’t like veggies.”

While generations of children have been traumatised by silverbeet or Brussels sprouts, it hadn’t put them off, according to Yates.

Consumption of vegetables is increasing as people look to their diet to improve health and wellbeing.

However, a joint study carried out by the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, reveals that while New Zealand produces more than enough vegetables to meet the five-plus-a-day recommended nutritional guidelines, we are still not eating enough.

Men are consuming fewer vegetables than women and those living in higher deprivation areas also eat fewer vegetables.

The outcome of the VegElection will be decided by New Zealanders and the winners and losers of the veggie vote will be announced on October 11, in the lead-up to National Gardening Week.

Voting closes on September 30, 2023.

Those interested in voting can do so on Yates’ website.