Potato is UK’s favourite vegetable, poll claims

‘The more diversity we can find and reintroduce into our food systems, including what we grow at home, the greater our resilience to future pressures,’ says charity

Britons have been warned about the risk to plant diversity from climate change (Getty/iStock)

Potatoes are the UK’s favourite vegetable, according to a new poll, beating peppers and peas to the top spot.

A survey of 2,000 adults revealed the top 20 types of vegetation for the nation included broccoli, spinach and Brussels sprouts.

Sweet potato, cabbage, peppers, peas and even tomatoes made the list – the fruit that is often mistaken for a vegetable.

Four in 10 said they should not imagine not being able to buy staple fruits and vegetables in their local store, according to the poll which was commissioned by Kimchi brand Jongga to raise awareness of climate change’s impact on plant diversity.

One-third of respondents did not realise plant diversity was in danger and that this might impact the future of their dinner plate.

Garden Organic, a charity working with Jongga, has estimated that many hundreds of varieties of vegetables, once widely available as seed and produce, have disappeared.

And if this pattern continues, consumers could face a future lacking in plant biodiversity, putting some of the vegetables eaten today at risk of dying out.

Catrina Fenton, head of Garden Organic’s heritage seed library, which saves and reintroduces rare seeds, said: “Plants have a simple way of adapting to different challenges: genetic diversity.

“The more diversity we can find and reintroduce into our food systems, including what we grow at home, the greater our resilience to future pressures in a changing environment.

“Loss of diversity in our plant food systems decreases the choices available to develop better adapted plant populations.

“Lack of biodiversity can leave food production much more vulnerable to stress events, such as outbreaks of disease, pests and climate change, which ultimately could impact the fruits and vegetables available to future generations.”

The study also found Britons were increasingly going green with their eating habits, with 58 per cent eating more of their “five a day” now than they did five years ago.

One-quarter of these respondents said doing so was better for the planet, while 51 per cent wanted to do more for their own health.

Catrina Fenton added: “The risk of more vegetables disappearing continues year on year, yet our heritage seed library has managed to conserve varieties which used to be commercially available but now are no longer on the market.”

Jennifer Lee, a Jongga spokeswoman, added: “As our intake of fruit and vegetables continues to rise, it’s paramount we begin raising awareness of the latest sustainability crisis.

“Many see the food in their fridges as a never-ending resource, but sadly this is not the case.

"Shockingly, over the last century 75 per cent of plant diversity has been lost, with 95 per cent of cabbage varieties disappearing from our plates.”