The short answer is because a great number of adults think that melons do grow in the soil!! Please read on…

I just can’t believe the newspaper article which I have just read ~ ‘Dinner-plate dummies who think parsnips grow on trees’, carried by the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom today. For the rest of the world where parsnips are lesser known, it is like thinking that melons grow in the soil. The shocking revelations come from a survey conducted recently by the UK Potato Council which questioned 2,000 adults.

Melons Don’t Grow In The Soil !!

During my childhood days, I have often wandered into my neighbourhood where there was much market gardening ( we don’t have potatoes per se, only the red-skinned sweet potatoes). But these days, you can still go visit farms to learn about how fruits and vegetables are grown and harvested. Or you can Google and have the knowledge on your finger tips!

Sometime ago in the United Sates, school children in urbanised environments believed that milk comes in carton boxes from supermarkets and covenience stores. Across the globe, we are all subjected  to living in societies that are increasingly crowded and where mass-produced, pre-packaged and processed fruits and vegetables are sold in supermarkets. Still, the level of consumer ignorance is rather shocking.

Potatoes Do Grow In The Soil

Back to the survey findings. See if you are shocked by the following statistics:

1. Nearly one in three Brits has no idea how common fruit and vegetables are grown.

2. Three out of ten adults can’t explain how potatoes are produced.

3. One in five adults believe that parsnips grow on trees.

4. One in five adults think that melons grow in the soil.

5. One in ten adults believe that tomatoes have to be dug up (from the soil).

6. One in twenty think a Granny Smith (apple variety) is a potato, and two in ten have never heard of a King Edward (potato variety).

Tomatoes Don’t Need To Be Dug Up!

And to think that children depend on adults for providing them a balanced diet so that their health and general well being are ensured… Just worrying where the grown-ups knowledge lie in these health areas.