The role of the horticultural sector, Koppert Cress
The horticultural sector in Westland (the Netherlands) is attracting attention from around the world.
The strength of Westland
The horticultural sector in Westland (the Netherlands) is attracting attention from around the world. People are drawn by the expertise of the farms and companies that design machines; build greenhouses; produce seeds; and are engaged in logistical activities, or that have a deep knowledge of cultivation. The rest of the world would love to implement the very same in their own countries. Westland is a perfect example of an area engaged in large-scale, high-quality food production.
Rob Baan
In all his jobs, his constant aim was to thoroughly understand the subject, become familiar with the culture and look for solutions. He now uses the knowledge he acquired to explain to consumers the logic behind fresh food as the best and most natural source of good health. His fresh and insightful look at the food industry makes him a unique and valuable expert in the field of food and health. Let’s change our perspective on fresh food and health.
We strongly believe that good food is crucial for a healthy existence
Food and health are Rob’s passion. Those who know him know that when he starts talking about vegetables, he always talks about their health benefits. We could all still learn quite a bit about this here in the Netherlands. However, it's a very exciting topic, as we humans have evolved to eat plants (and, occasionally, the odd animal we could catch with the most elementary of tools).
Challenge
The key to good health is our lifestyle. Modern illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes and Obesity are the result of an unhealthy lifestyle. We all know that vegetables are good for us, yet we think that a cure is more important than prevention – and that medicines are more important than a healthy diet. At Koppert Cress, we have a penalty notice hanging on the wall that we received after our website claimed BroccoCress was healthy. Producers are prohibited from promoting products using health claims that have not been substantiated by scientific research. This is monitored by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. These rules were drawn up to protect consumers. Even so, we feel that this penalty symbolizes a problem that is prevalent in horticulture: the fact that we can't yet substantiate why vegetables are good for us.
