Healthier Eating Reported During Coronavirus
2020-05-20
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1People in some countries have reported making healthier eating choices during the coronavirus crisis.
2New research also found that people facing stay-at-home orders tried cooking new things and threw away less food.
3The results came from a recent research project involving 11,000 shoppers in 11 countries.
4A lead organizer of the study was Charlotte De Backer, a researcher at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.
5She told Reuters news agency the results showed that people were buying less microwaveable food and more fresh fruits and vegetables.
6Muriel Bernard is the founder of Belgium-based organic food online seller eFarmz.
7She told Reuters she had to nearly double her workforce to 25 to meet demand for her fresh products.
8The first part of the study involved shoppers in several European countries, as well as Australia, Chile, Uganda, Canada and Brazil.
9More than half of those taking part were in Belgium.
10The research will next be expanded to include 25 additional countries, with final results expected by the end of June.
11In nearly half of the countries, shoppers reported buying fewer salty or sweet snacks, although overall sales remained about the same.
12De Backer said many people turn to salty, sweet and fatty products when they are feeling stress.
13But during the current crisis, many people seemed to fill this desire with home-baked goods.
14In Chile, for example, there was a large drop in sales of snacks, but a big rise in people buying baking necessities like flour.
15Consumption of meat, fish and alcoholic drinks generally remained the same, the research showed.
16De Backer said the healthier food buying could be related to the fact that people took more time to carefully plan their trips to the store.
17"If you make a shopping list, you plan your meals ahead and you are less likely to add unhealthy food."
18Many shoppers taking part in the study also said they had tried cooking new things and used more left-over foods to reduce waste.
19However, De Backer said this behavior could be linked to fears of food shortages and could change after the crisis.
20But she noted that some of the improvements in eating are likely to continue.
21She says this is because in many countries, stay-at-home orders have been in place for more than six weeks - the usual amount of time it takes people to form new behaviors.
22De Backer also said that as people grow more confident and creative in the kitchen,
23they could break down one of the main barriers to home cooking.
24I'm Bryan Lynn.
1People in some countries have reported making healthier eating choices during the coronavirus crisis. 2New research also found that people facing stay-at-home orders tried cooking new things and threw away less food. The results came from a recent research project involving 11,000 shoppers in 11 countries. 3A lead organizer of the study was Charlotte De Backer, a researcher at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. She told Reuters news agency the results showed that people were buying less microwaveable food and more fresh fruits and vegetables. 4Muriel Bernard is the founder of Belgium-based organic food online seller eFarmz. She told Reuters she had to nearly double her workforce to 25 to meet demand for her fresh products. 5The first part of the study involved shoppers in several European countries, as well as Australia, Chile, Uganda, Canada and Brazil. More than half of those taking part were in Belgium. The research will next be expanded to include 25 additional countries, with final results expected by the end of June. 6In nearly half of the countries, shoppers reported buying fewer salty or sweet snacks, although overall sales remained about the same. 7De Backer said many people turn to salty, sweet and fatty products when they are feeling stress. But during the current crisis, many people seemed to fill this desire with home-baked goods. 8In Chile, for example, there was a large drop in sales of snacks, but a big rise in people buying baking necessities like flour. 9Consumption of meat, fish and alcoholic drinks generally remained the same, the research showed. 10De Backer said the healthier food buying could be related to the fact that people took more time to carefully plan their trips to the store. "If you make a shopping list, you plan your meals ahead and you are less likely to add unhealthy food." 11Many shoppers taking part in the study also said they had tried cooking new things and used more left-over foods to reduce waste. However, De Backer said this behavior could be linked to fears of food shortages and could change after the crisis. 12But she noted that some of the improvements in eating are likely to continue. She says this is because in many countries, stay-at-home orders have been in place for more than six weeks - the usual amount of time it takes people to form new behaviors. 13De Backer also said that as people grow more confident and creative in the kitchen, they could break down one of the main barriers to home cooking. 14I'm Bryan Lynn. 15Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 16We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 17________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19shopper - n. a person looking for things to buy in a store 20microwaveable - adj. able to be cooked in a microwave oven 21organic - adj. not using artificial chemicals in the growing of plants and animals for food and other products 22snack - n. a small amount of food eaten between meals 23stress - n. great worry caused by difficult situations 24confident - adj. having a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something