1. CVD causes almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe, and is reported to cost the EU economy an estimated €169 billion ($202 billion) per year. According to the American Heart Association, 34.2 percent of Americans (70.1 million people) suffered from some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 2002. (Source)
2. A report from the European Union showed that global fruit and vegetable production was over 1 230 million tonnes in 2001-2002, worth over $50 billion (€ 41 000 million). Asia produced 61 per cent, while Europe and North/Central America both producing nine per cent. (Source)
3. Approximately seven million people in the UK alone are reported to have long-term health problems associated with arthritis. Around 206 million working days were lost in the UK in 1999-2000, equal to £18 billion (€26 billion) of lost productivity. (Source)
4. The global tea market is worth about €790(£540, $941) million. Green tea accounts for about 20 per cent of total global production, while black tea (green tea that has been oxidized by fermentation) accounts for about 78 per cent. (Source)
5. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), an organization with the mandate "to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity, and to better the conditions of rural populations of its member countries," is having increasing difficulty in convincing the people who control the purse strings that its annual budget is worth increasing to offset inflation. The FAO's budget for 2004-05 was $749m.
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