{"id":49070,"date":"2025-02-24T16:16:31","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T15:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.axfoundation.se\/?post_type=project&p=49070"},"modified":"2026-02-12T14:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:20:10","slug":"whole-plant","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/www.axfoundation.se\/en\/projects\/whole-plant","title":{"rendered":"The Whole Plant \u2013 More Yield, More Food"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \"Who\n

Who decided that a broccoli should be a plastic-wrapped flower weighing 250 grams? The leaves make up almost half of the biomass of a broccoli plant.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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The Issue<\/h2>\n
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Sweden\u2019s dietary guidelines can be summarized in one key message: more vegetables and more Swedish-grown produce. Yet, large portions of Swedish-grown vegetables \u2013such as leaves and stems \u2013 go to waste. At the same time, more people are opting for cheaper imported vegetables, which often have a higher climate impact and contain pesticide residues. Additionally, Swedes consume too few vegetables and instead eat more unhealthy foods. Over the past 20 years, the number of Swedish vegetable growers has decreased by 30%. To reverse this trend, we need innovation and improved profitability to strengthen Sweden’s food production. A first step would be to start talking about how large the plants are in relation to how little we harvest. After all, who decided that, for example, a broccoli should be a plastic-wrapped flower weighing 250 grams?<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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\n \"A\n

A vegetable mixture, based on broccoli leaves, that can be used for various types of food products, has been developed at Tors\u00e5ker Farm.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Our Solution<\/h2>\n
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In the project The Whole Plant \u2013 More Yield, More Food,<\/em> partners from across the value chain collaborate to make underutilized vegetable by-products more accessible to the food industry. This partnership is developing an infrastructure for nutritious and flavorful vegetable ingredients to be transformed into new food products. Utilizing these raw materials \u2013 currently considered waste \u2013 reduces environmental impact, benefits public health, and strengthens the Swedish food system.<\/p>\n

As part of the project’s pilot, Axfoundation’s innovation and development team at Tors\u00e5ker Farm<\/a> is testing new and tasty products made from broccoli plant waste, including leaves and stems. While the broccoli floret only accounts for about 15% of the plant\u2019s biomass, the leaves make up nearly half, meaning there is significant potential to increase yields substantially if more of the plant is harvested.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Did you know that…<\/h2>\n
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