Don’t Judge a Veggie by It’s Cover… New Study Reports that Vegetables are not as Nutritious as they were in the 1950’s
They may look a whole lot shiner, blemish-free and prettier, but the USDA says the vegetables of today are packed with far less nutrients than their 
counterparts 50 years ago. Yup – according to the Natural Food Merchandiser – the USDA reports that store-bought vegetables are not as good for you as they were 40-50 years ago, which were packed with far more nutrients back then than they are now.
Why? The crops of today are often bred for size and color, and not nutrients. It seems that crops today are designed to survive 1,000 mile road trips and as a result, their nutritional value has sacrificed.
Is this a reason to start planning your Spring 2010 garden? Or a reason to stake out claims in community garden initiatives or co-ops? More important, do we all need to start taking vitamin supplements to stave off flu symptoms this coming winter?
Being allergen and gluten-free I eat tons of vegetables.
I don’t know about you all, but give me back the dings, blemishes and scars of my veggies – and while you’re at it, give me back the nutrients too.
September 14th, 2009 at 6:13 am
Michael Pollan talked about similar facts in his book, In Defense of Food. For example, he shared that many varieties of apples have completely disappeared.
Ironically, it’s for this reason that the wheat of today has far more gluten in it than it did in Biblical times. The gluten amount has been increased to yield more loaves of bread and higher rising loaves of bread, but also to make the plant more disease and insect resistant. My doctor says that the modified wheat with many times more gluten is a huge contributor to the overall increase in gluten intolerance.
We should become more savvy and demand better fruits and vegetables for ourselves. It’s also another reason to eat local. Smaller, organic producers are focused on different and, thankfully, better qualities than shipping capabilities.
Shirley
September 14th, 2009 at 8:35 am
This is something I’m becoming very passionate about! It seems as though when food got into the hands of scientists, things went haywire. Two of my favorite books about this topic are In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.