More Matters - the press release

Here is a link to the PRNewswire story about the More Matters launch.
Lede: To encourage Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables, the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today unveiled a new public health initiative, Fruits & Veggies - More Matters(TM), the next generation of the 15-year-old "5 A Day for Better Health" program
Notable quote: "Fruits & Veggies - More Matters is a new call for a healthier America that is inspiring, attainable, and easy for people to understand," said Dr. Elizabeth Pivonka, PBH president and CEO. "The message is intentionally simple: Most people benefit from eating more fruits and vegetables every day." She added that all forms count: fresh, frozen, canned, dried, and 100-percent juice.
Gist: Out to change consumer behavior over the long term; 9 out of 10 Americans don't eat enough fruits and veggies.

TK: With a more inclusive PBH board now, the "all forms count" is somewhat a new emphasis in this public/private partnership. Studies show consumers aren't quite as comfortable with the health benefits of canned and frozen as they are with fresh, so look for work to be done to push the benefits of canned, frozen, juice and dried to consumers.

The hook for More Matters

Above, the gavel passes from Jan DeLyser to Mike O'Brien on Sunday..

More Matters is officially launching at this very hour. Already, this morning a Google search brings up more than 100 stories about Fruits and Veggies: More Matters.

The PBH meeting over the weekend was the best kind of industry meeting, full of vision, passion, enthusiasm for the mission by committed volunteer leaders. It is clear that PBH is clearly banking on this More Matters brand to be the vehicle for industry promotion for years to come, and that's exciting.

At a round table discussion yesterday of the national fruit and vegetable program steering committee in San Francisco, Bill Dietz, director of CDC's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity in Atlanta, concluded with a point about obesity and the More Matters campaign.

"A final point is that I think we need to be cautious about (the link) between fruits and vegetables and (reduced incidence of) obesity. I don't think we need the obesity hook to make it work. We need to be mindful of the potential adverse effect of linking (greater) fruit and vegetable consumption to reduced incidence of obesity. Consumers may dismiss the message if the data doesn't support it. We just need to be cautious about using the approach that increased fruits and vegetable intake may be related to lowering the risk of obesity."

Although some early studies have shown that increased fruits and veggie intake can lower the risk of obesity, Dietz isn't comfortable with the data so far. Rather, More Matters is a winning message because nine out of ten Americans don't eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.