We're eating more greens, but not from Sweden

We need to eat more greens. It's good for the environment and our health, and the recommendation is at least 500 grams a day. When we analyse consumption figures, we see a rising trend – since 1980, consumption of fresh vegetables, including everything from cabbage to pickled cucumber, has more than doubled. Today we eat 47 kilos per person per year. Salad is a good example, where consumption has risen from around 35,000 tonnes in 1995 to 52,000 tonnes in 2024.

But to a large extent, it isn't Swedish salad we're eating. During the cold months of the year, imports dominate, and in 2024 nearly 32,000 tonnes of salad were imported, equal to around 60% of Swedes' consumption. Two-thirds of our imports, just over 21,000 tonnes, come from Spain, followed by Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Denmark. We also import a large share of the fresh herbs we consume – both from southern Europe and from countries such as Morocco, Egypt, and Kenya. A very long journey from cultivation to consumption.