Growing evidence indicates that today's fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products have less vitamins and nutrients than in the past.
Growing
evidence
indicates
that today's
fruits,
vegetables,
meat and
dairy
products
have less
vitamins
and nutrients
than in
the past.
American
agribusiness
is producing
more food
than ever
before,
but the
evidence
is building
that the
vitamins
and minerals
in that
food are
declining.
For example,
take the
two eggs
shown
at right.
The one
with the
bright
orange
yolk is
from a
free-range
chicken
raised
by Mother
Earth
News managing
editor
Nancy
Smith,
while
the pale
one is
a supermarket
egg from
a hen
raised
indoors
on a “factory
farm.”
Eggs from
free-range
hens contain
up to
30 percent
more vitamin
E, 50
percent
more folic
acid and
30 percent
more vitamin
B-12 than
factory
eggs.
And the
bright
orange
color
of the
yolk shows
higher
levels
of antioxidant
carotenes.
(Many
factory-farm
eggs are
so pale
that producers
feed the
hens expensive
marigold
flowers
to make
the yolks
brighter
in color.)
Once
upon a
time,
most of
us ate
eggs from
free-range
chickens
kept by
small,
local
producers.
But today,
agri- culture has
become
dominated
by agri- business .
Most of
our food
now comes
from large-scale
producers
who rely
on chemical
fertilizers,
pesticides
and animal
drugs,
and inhumane
confinement
animal
production.
In agribusiness,
the main
emphasis
is on
getting
the highest
possible
yields
and profits;
nutrient
content
(and flavor)
are, at
best,
second
thoughts.
This
shift
in production
methods
is clearly
giving
us less
nutritious
eggs and
meat.
Beef from
cattle
raised
in feedlots
on growth
hormones
and high-grain
diets
has lower
levels
of vitamins
E, A,
D and
betacarotene,
and twice
as much
fat, as
grass-fed
beef.
Health
writer
Jo Robinson
has done
groundbreaking
work on
this subject,
collecting
the evidence
on her
Web site, www.eatwild.com ,
and in
her book Pasture
Perfect .
Similar
nutrient
declines
can be
documented
in milk,
butter
and cheese.
As one
researcher
writing
in the Journal
of Dairy
Research explained,
“It follows
that continuing
breeding
and management
systems
that focus
solely
on increasing
milk yield
will result
in a steady
dilution
of vitamins
and antioxidants.”
(Today's
“super-cows”
are bred
and fed
to produce 20
times more
milk than
a cow
needs
to sustain
a healthy
calf.)
How much,
and why,
the nutrients
in vegetables
and fruits
may be
declining
is less
clear.
Comparisons
of 2004
data from
the USDA's
National
Nutrient
Database,
with numbers
from 1975,
show declines
in nutrients
in a number
of foods
(see Resources:
of Nutrient
Decline”)
as well
as some
increases.
When reports
of apparent
downward
trends
in nutrient
content
in vegetables
and fruits
appeared
in 1999,
we wrote
to then-U.S.
Secretary
of Agriculture
Dan Glickman
for an
explanation:
“Is the
drop linked
to preventable
factors,
such as
American
agriculture's
dependence
on acidic
nitrogen
fertilizers
and the
effects
of acid
rain?
Will you
ask your
top scientists
to give
us some
direct
answers?”
Writing
on Glickman's
behalf,
Phyllis
E. Johnson,
director
of the
USDA's
Agricultural
Research
Service
in Beltsville,
Md., confirmed
the findings.
“It is
true that
in many
(but not
all) cases,
the apparent
nutrient
content
of these
vegetables
decreased,”
Johnson
said.
She went
on to
list variables
that might
be related
to the
apparent
decline,
but she
offered
no indication
that anyone
at the
USDA would
be studying
the issue
further.
Recently,
we contacted
Johnson
again,
to find
out whether
there
had been
any new
developments
on the
matter.
Her office
referred
us back
to the
1999 letter
and told
us Johnson
had no
additional
comment
on the
subject.
What
the Experts
Say
Many
things
can impact
the nutrient
content
of a vegetable
or fruit.
Variety
type,
soil quality,
fertilizers,
crop rotations,
maturity
at harvest
time and
the distance
from farm
to table
all play
a role
in determining
the vitamins
and minerals
in our
food.
We asked
sustainable
agriculture
expert
Charles
Benbrook,
Ph.D.,
if reliance
on chemical
fertilizers
and emphasis
on high
yields
might
reduce
the nutrients
in fruits
and vegetables.
Benbrook
has been
studying
the pros
and cons
of conventional
and organic
agriculture
for more
than 15
years.
He explained
factors
that make
organic
foods
rich in
nutrients:
Fertilizers. Non-organic
farmers
use highly
soluble
nitrogen
fertilizers,
and keeping
this nutrient
in their
soils
is difficult.
To be
sure they
get high
yields,
they often
apply
more nitrogen
than the
crops
actually
need.
This
dependence
upon chemical
nitrogen
fertilizers
means
we're
getting
less for
our money,
says Benbrook.
Numerous
studies
have demonstrated
that high
levels
of nitrogen
stimulate
quick
growth
and increase
crop yields
because
the fruits
and vegetables
take up
more water.
In effect,
this means
consumers
pay more
for produce
diluted
with water.
“High
nitrogen
levels
make plants
grow fast
and bulk
up with
carbohydrates
and water.
While
the fruits
these
plants
produce
may be
big, they
suffer
in nutritional
quality,”
Benbrook
says,
“whereas
organic
production
systems
[which
use slow-release
forms
of nitrogen]
produce
foods
that usually
yield
denser
concentrations
of nutrients
and deliver
consumers
a better
nutritional
bargain
per calorie
consumed.”
Benbrook
says the
USDA has
a tacit
policy
to avoid
discussions
of differences
in food
quality
and safety
that may
be a function
of how
food is
grown
and processed.
“The Department
made a
political
decision
when they
finalized
the national
organic
rule;
they declared
that ”˜organic'
food was
not nutritionally
superior
or safer
than conventional
food,
even though
there
is solid
evidence
suggesting
otherwise.”
This would
certainly
explain
the response
we got
from Johnson's
office.
What
it all
comes
down to,
Benbrook
says,
is that
you can't
buy soil
quality
in a bag
any more
than you
can buy
good nutrition
in a pill.
Organic
farmers
work to
support
the complex
natural
relationships
between
crop roots,
soil microbes
and minerals,
but “scientists
only understand
a few
of those
relationships.
Unless
we understand
much more
fully
what the
critical
balances
are, it's
very difficult
to import
them to
the farm
in a bag
or a bottle.”
Vitamin
C. High
nitrogen
levels
reduce
the
concentrations
of vitamin
C in
crops
such
as lettuce,
beets,
endive,
kale
and
Brussels
sprouts.
Similar
effects
have
been
detected
on fruits
such
as apples,
oranges,
lemons
and
cantaloupe.
Swiss
studies
have
shown
similar
impacts
on potatoes
and
tomatoes,
as well
as citrus
fruits
— which
are
major
sources
of this
important
vitamin.
Harvesting
and
storage. The
fact
that
the
average
supermarket
apple
travels
1,500
miles
from
farm
to table
only
adds
to the
problem.
“Most
fruits
reach
best
eating
quality
and
peak
nutrition
when
fully
ripened
on the
tree
or plant,”
explains
Julio
Loaiza,
Ph.D.,
a research
scientist
at Texas
A&M
University's
Vegetable
and
Fruit
Improvement
Center.
“However,
fully
ripened
fruit
may
not
withstand
the
harsh
handling
typically
involved
for
travel
to distant
markets,
which
leads
to a
compromise
in optimum
maturity
and
nutritional
quality.”
Breeding
for
high
yields. Plant
breeders
could
maintain
and
even
increase
the
nutrient
content
of most
crops,
if they
were
asked
to do
so.
But
this
goal
usually
takes
a back
seat
to economic
issues:
“Large-scale
growers
want
size
and
fast
growth
so they
can
harvest
early.
These
factors
feed
into
sacrifices
in nutritional
quality,”
Benbrook
says.
Why
Buy Organic
What
we need
is a more
holistic
approach
to our
food systems.
We need
to be
sure that
high yields
and maximum
profits
for producers
don't
come with
hidden
price
tags to
consumers
in terms
of nutritional
decline
or environmental
damage.
This approach
isn't
anything
new to
organic
farmers
— they've
been working
their
farms
as holistic
systems
all along,
and the
result
is a production
system
that is
better
for us,
domestic
animals
and the
environment.
The growing
evidence
that organic
foods
are more
nutritious
is summarized
in Resources:
“Why
Organic
Food is
the Winner.”
Certified
organic
growers
are not
allowed
to use
chemical
nitrogen
fertilizers,
ever.
Instead
they build
soil fertility
using
cover
crops,
compost
and slow-release
natural
fertilizers.
Because
they aren't
grown
with chemical
nitrogen,
organic
fruits
and vegetables
tend to
be smaller,
and yields
seem lower
compared
to non-organic
crops.
But as
mentioned
above,
studies
have shown
that organic
crops
often
contain less
water ,
so in
terms
of actual
nutrient
value
(and flavor)
per bite
of food,
organic
often
is a better
buy than
non-organic
produce.
The higher
dry matter/lower
water
content
of organic
produce
also impacts
the levels
of health-promoting
antioxidants
such as
polyphenols
and flavonoids.
In a review
of the
scientific
literature,
Benbrook
discovered
that smaller
fruits
had up
to five
times
more of
these
antioxidants
per unit
of calories.
There's
more research
that must
be done
before
we can
know to
what extent
the overall
quality
of our
food is
declining,
and whether
the rapidly
expanding
organic
industry
will be
able to
consistently
produce
more nutritious
food than
chemical-based
agribusiness.
But Benbrook
says the
public
health
implications
are considerable:
“When
you think
about
the diseases
and long-term
health
problems
that are
caused
by poor
nutrition
— heart
disease,
diabetes,
cancer
— the
value
to society
of producing
more nutritious
crops
is enormous.”
Indeed,
a 1992
USDA report
estimated
the following
potential
health
benefits
if everyone
in the
United
States
could
be convinced
to eat
a diet
containing
the recommended
daily
amounts
of primary
nutrients
shown
in the
table:
Ӣ 20
percent
reduction
in cancer
Ӣ 25
percent
reduction
in heart
and vascular
conditions
Ӣ 50
percent
reduction
in arthritis
Ӣ 20
percent
reduction
in respiratory
and infectious
diseases
Ӣ 50
percent
reduction
in infant
and maternal
deaths
So, it
seems
to us
that the
government
should
be doing
more to
monitor
the nutrient
content
of our
food,
especially
organic
and pasture-based
products.
Currently,
the USDA's
National
Nutrient
Database,
which
is widely
used as
the “official”
source
for nutrient
levels,
includes
more than
6,600
food products,
including
meat;
fresh,
frozen
and canned
produce;
and processed
foods. They
even include
candy
bars,
gumdrops,
TV dinners
and hundreds
of fast
food items
in the
database.
But the
agency
has not
included
a single
organic
item ,
nor any
entries
for products
from pasture-based
meat or
dairy
systems.
If they
use our
tax dollars
to report
the nutrients
in candy
bars,
isn't
it time
they started
including
data on
these
healthier
“alternatives,”
too?
If you
agree
that the
government
needs
to do
more to
enhance
the quality
of our
food supply,
write
your congressional
representatives
and let
them know.
After
all, as
one USDA
secretary
whispered
while
giving
us the
mandated
brush
off, “It's
up to
the public.
If they
really
want to
know,
they have
to press
Congress
to appropriate
the funds.”
You also
can send
a message
every
time you
shop for
your groceries:
When you
choose
organic
or grass-fed
products,
you are
helping
support
farmers
and ranchers
who are
offering
high-quality
foods
from sustainable
production
systems.
ENN
would
like
to thank
Earth
News for
their
permission
to reprint
this
article.