Has modern farming made foods less nutritious?

Have you ever heard or read anything claiming fruits and veggies today contain lower nutrient amounts (vitamins and/ or minerals) compared to those in the past (say, 50 or 60 years ago)?

Did you know this is a myth?

Although it is possible there has been a decline in the amount of nutrients in foods, this decrease would only be a fraction of the natural variation of crops!

Sometimes it is also claimed foods may be lower in minerals and nutrients due to a depletion of minerals in the soil foods are grown in. However, if it was due to soil depletion crops and yields would likely be smaller, or the crop may fail to grow completely – because the plants require these nutrients in order to grow properly.

Also, if crops did have large deficiencies in certain vitamins or minerals, we would see clear nutrient deficiencies in the population because people would be eating less of these nutrients. But the evidence shows no associations between eating these supposedly “nutrient deficient’ crops, and nutritional deficiencies in the population.

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