WE all know we're meant to eat five portions of fruit and veg a day (sadly wine and chips don't count), but interestingly this figure varies in different countries.

In Denmark it's six, in France it's ten and in Japan it's 13.

The amount is decided by what the governing body for each country thinks is achievable for its people, and is based on the minimum stated by the World Health Organisation - which is five.

So while we're wrangling greens and wondering if baked beans count (they do), we're probably still not consuming enough. Additionally, often the fresh produce we are buying is not actually that fresh, as the supermarket fridges are stocked with asparagus from South America, green beans from Kenya and tomatoes from Spain.

Even if the produce is picked, packed, shipped and stocked immediately, it loses nutrients until it reaches our plates, meaning that we're taking in less than we think.

Eating seasonally and relying more on local produce is a great solution, but most of us feel we don't have the time to fuss and fiddle about with changing our habits.

It's unrealistic that everyone will want to subsist on root veg and orchard fruits throughout the autumn, only switching to green leaves and berries with the changing of the seasons, but if we tried to rely as much as possible on local, seasonal produce as our first port of call, it would be a start.

Growing your own, booking home deliveries of fresh produce, or choosing markets/greengrocers over supermarket chains are all great, but there are other options too.

Last week I attended a meeting with fellow Salisbury residents who are interested in the independent, non-political Transition movement, which encourages cities to be more self-reliant. Supporting local producers and building local businesses are just two of the aims of the group, and so far around 50 Salisbury residents are involved.

If it's something you might be interested in there will be another meeting at the end of October, which is open to anyone – for more information email mike.lennard876@ gmail.com.