Preliminary research shows that many vegetables have lost significant amounts of nutritional value

[dixiegrrrrl]

I have been saying this for years.

Now a grist article says it too.
"Donald Davis, a scientist retired from the University of Texas at Austin, and his colleagues published a study in 2004 comparing U.S. Department of Agriculture data on vegetable nutrients from 1950 to data from 1999, and found notable decreases, particularly for key nutrients like calcium, iron, phosphorus, riboflavin, and ascorbic acid.

Davis believes that the primary reason for the decrease is selective breeding: As growers and researchers have spent the last 50 years trying to produce varieties of crops that yield more fruit, they've been ignoring the effects on nutrient content. Davis cites a few studies that compared high-yield varieties to non-high-yield varieties in the same soil and growing conditions, and found decreased nutrient content in the former."

the above snip comes from the 4th paragraph in, and be sure to see the graph on the page also:
http://www.grist.org/food/2011-08-02-not-your-grandmas-strawberries

There is no mention of the fact that commercial farming also relies on heavy chemicals and the soil is depleted of nutrients over time because of this. Another way of saying that organic rich soil really is best.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Kicked and recced, I hope they never bastardize the beloved blueberry, the extract of it

or any of its cousins.

http://www.naturalhub.com/natural_food_guide_fruit_common.htm
Blueberries have from about 135mg to 280mg per 100 grams fresh weight of of 'polyphenols' -flavenoid substances in plants hypothesised to confer reduced cancer risk benefits. For perspective, of the data I have seen, one variety of plum analysed at 4mg/100grams fresh weight at the low end, and a particular variety of grape analysed at nearly 500mg per 100 grams fresh weight at the high end. This makes them the (commonly available) fresh fruit with the highest polyphenol content.

Vaccinium Antioxidant and Nutraceutical News - JJJ A page at the North American Blueberry Council site which reports and references the studies into the antioxidant effect of blueberries, as well as specific activities against Urinary tract infections, and assistance with eyesight.
http://www.blueberry.org/nutraceu.htm

Blueberries for health JJ A nice, short, easy read page summing up the health benefits of eating blueberries. At Norris Blueberry Farm site.
http://www.norrisfarms.com/health.htm

[Frustratedlady]

2. I heartily agree. Unless you've tasted garden veggies in the past,

you have no idea how much broccoli, carrots...even tomatoes, have changed. My dil used to balk at using our broccoli from the garden, as it didn't taste like store-bought. That's right!

They have "designed" fruits and veggies to have longer shelf life and given up the taste in the process. In addition, they have raped the soil of nutrients and not replaced it. You can't take, take, take and not give back. All farmers know that.

I buy organic. More expensive up front, but much better taste and no chemicals.

[femrap]

3. I just had some green beans from

my cousin's garden....they were so 'meaty.' I loved them.

[Lorien]

4. I was trying to get this point across on the "only the wealthy can afford nutrious food"

article. People were posting that their cheap meal of a frozen chicken breast, canned green beans and a piece of fruit is "healthy", but if the food is factory farmed then it only contains 1/10th the nutrition of it's organic (and costlier) counterparts. Just a few days ago I purchased organic strawberries for the first time. They smelled and tasted as delicious as the strawberries that my Mennonite grandparents used to grow-completely unlike the white, bland almost odorless conventional strawberries that sell for 2 for $5 (the organic cost twice as much).

[Frustratedlady]

9. We used to raise hydroponic tomatoes (ripened on the vine, not picked green)

and had a cornfield next to the greenhouse that was raising sweet corn for a commercial canner. I don't know which company. After seeing how many times they sprayed (aerial spraying up to a few days before harvest) and how they harvested (ripping the ears off the stalks by machine and leaving a cornfield behind that looked like a tornado had gone through), I never bought canned corn again. The field was full of the milk from the kernels, which drew white flies in clouds. It was all we could do to save our plants.

Even if you only have a small corner of your yard that you can use, try planting a few veggies. You will not believe the taste.

[Lorien]

22. Small plot, all in shade, floods daily in the Summer. nt

[MadHound]

25. Try growing your own.

You can get heirloom seeds and grow them, it isn't hard, nor that expensive.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. lousy dirt grows lousy food

Industrial farming has killed the soil

[Frustratedlady]

10. It can be restored with organic mulch.

We once turned clay into a lush garden by rototilling a load of sand into the soil. It took a while, but it was wonderful and produced incredible melons, green beans, peppers, potatoes and, of course, tomatoes. The only thing I never could grow successfully was cauliflower.

[JoeyT]

16. I envy anyone that can grow cauliflower.

I can't do it either. I got huge beautiful leaves that never made a head. (I suspect too much nitrogen was my problem)

[sofa king]

24. My friends reclaimed a gravel parking lot this year.

It wasn't a helluva lot of fun chipping through it with persuaders and post-hole diggers, but half a shovelfull of this insane organic compost and eight weeks later, we have tomato plants six and a half feet tall, including heirlooms that must be weighing in at a half a pound or more apiece. I don't know if they taste any good or if they're more or less nutritious--I actually really dislike tomatoes, but they're fun to grow.

This area is now under the heavy influence of Polyface Farm, "the worm guys," and this particular compost is pretty much a giant pile of worm poop. I have to say, the theory of keeping the worms happy to keep the plants happy seems to work astonishingly well.

I only wish I had thought to establish a control group for comparison. Next year, I guess.

[surrealAmerican]

15. This is true, but it's not what this article is about.

They are maintaining that, in the same soil, high yield varieties produce less nutritious vegetables than traditional varieties.

Improving the soil will help, but the variety you plant is also important.

[Frustratedlady]

17. I realize that, I was responding to the lousy soil comment. n/t

[Demeter]

6. Which is why I sneer at vegans

The ability to see the big picture is lost in the hysteria.

[Strelnikov_]

7. But they can be shipped 10,000 miles and still look fresh a month later

Whadda want??

[Richard D]

8. Organic might cost more . . .

. . . but it pays more too.

[madmax]

11. K & R n/t

[Cassandra]

12. Also increased CO2...

apparently depresses nutrients.

[kestrel91316]

13. IIRC rresearch several years ago showed that organically grown produce had

far higher amouts of nutrients than conventionally grown.

You can't deplete the soil without consequences. Compost and organic matter as soil amendments are the way to go.

[dixiegrrrrl]

14. The best tasting tomatoes we grow here are the "tommy toe" (cherry) ones.

and they freely re-seed in the compost that I use the following year.
Very high Vit C content, btw.

Let me make a plug for the dedicated heirloom seed source we use: found at rareseeds dot com.
Also here in the humid south I am having more luck growing seeds from SE Asia, for melons and cukes and greens.

[AndyTiedye]

19. Best Tomatoes HERE are Japanese Black Truffle Tomatoes

(which I hear are really from somewhere in Siberia)

It's cool and foggy a lot. Currently 55º and the sun is trying to break through the fog without much success. Many of the more traditional varieties just sulk here.

What is best for you may vary enormously depending on your climate.

[InvisibleTouch]

21. Thanks for the heirloom seed source!

I will check it out. I make an effort to buy non-hybrid veggies every year, so I can save seeds, but I feel like I need to do more research into the different varieties for my climate. Definitely heirloom/organic is the way to go.

[Horse with no Name]

18. The best evidence of this

grow your own tomatoes from heirloom seeds from a reputable source.

Then you can see what an actual tomato tastes like.

What you buy in a grocery store...very little flavor but with texture recognition--you realize it is a tomato you are eating.

[Lorien]

23. I think that most of us do know what "home grown" tastes like

but not all of us have a place to grow our own.

[azul]

20. Then on to the follow-up studies:

does eating less nutritious chow increase the likelihood of infections or cause more disease?, and does this diet affect mental development and function?