Fresh Veggies Day is a holiday that’s observed annually on the 16th of June. It’s observed the day before National Eat Your Vegetables Day — a holiday that’s observed on June 17th, and encourages people to eat their vegetables. This holiday has much the same meaning, with a bit more emphasis on raising the public’s awareness about the variety of veggies that exist in the local supermarket and the nutritional wealth that can be found in these vegetables.

According to nutritionists, adults need at least 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day as part of a healthy diet. Unfortunately, most people don’t meet that goal. Hopefully, this holiday will serve as the reminder these people need of the importance of veggies in their diet.

The History of Fresh Veggies Day

As most people probably know, humans have been consuming vegetables for the duration of their existence. In fact, the eating of vegetables predates the emergence of Homo sapiens some 200,000 years ago. Humans are primates, after all, and primates eat a variety of fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

Of course, back at the dawn of human existence, there wasn’t the wealth of vegetables that is available now. There seems to be a common myth that the world a million years ago was just littered with the variety of veggies that we now take for granted. That is just a myth.

Although there was a lot of vegetation, humans had to figure out which were suitable to eat among the poisonous ones and the ones that were too difficult for humans to digest. That left them with very few options, which is why starvation was a common condition hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Fortunately, people were able to isolate the vegetables that they liked and, through the process of selective breeding, humans created the veggies that we now enjoy. For example, cabbages and broccoli were bred from wild mustard plants through the process of selective breeding.

This process is known as artificial selection and it allows humans to mold veggies to fit their needs. In essence, humans created most of the veggies that now populate the produce section from scratch. Vegetables allowed humans to improve their health, add a variety of flavors to their cooking, and help obtain the vitamins and minerals that they need.

And all of this would eventually lead us to Fresh Veggies Day. Although we’re unsure of the origins of this holiday, we do know that it was created sometime in the early 21st century and has been observed ever since.

Observing Fresh Veggies Day

This is the day for people to think about their dietary choices and, frankly, work towards making better decisions. People simply aren’t eating enough vegetables and they are potentially depriving themselves of the things their bodies need to function well.

Things such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. While people are reevaluating their dietary choices, they can also take the time to spread the word about this holiday using the hashtag #FreshVeggiesDay.