“Widespread agriculture methods are behind this trend to increase certain traits in our produce, such as size, growth rate, and pest resistance at the cost of nutritional value. USDA data for both 1950 and 1999 determined “43 different vegetables and fruits, finding “reliable declines” in the amount of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C over the past half century” (Scientific American, 2011). Another article cited says that “one would have to eat eight oranges today to derive the same amount of Vitamin A as our grandparents would have gotten from one”. With faster growth there is less time to extract nutrients from the soil before harvest, making each harvest less nutritious than the one before.”
-from “Growing Sources of Nutrient Depletion,“ 7 Mar 2014, by Chef Joy in Choose Cooking
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