Vintage Veggies Were Better

[marmar]

from Grist:



Not your grandma’s strawberries

by Natalie Jones
2 Aug 2011 8:05 PM


In 1950, your parents, grandparents, or a perhaps a younger version of you could eat a handful of string beans -- about three-and-a-half ounces -- and get about 9 percent of the calcium you needed for the day. Almost 50 years later, in 1999, the amount of calcium in string beans dropped by 43 percent, leaving you with only 5 percent of your daily calcium. You could eat more string beans -- except you might not want to, because they wouldn't be as flavorful as in the past. So you could eat more of other vegetables, but it's likely other vegetables wouldon't have as much calcium or flavor as they used to, either. And it's not just calcium: Preliminary research shows that many vegetables have lost significant amounts of nutritional value.

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.

"It's early evidence, but that's very powerful evidence because the soil is the same; the only difference is the genetics of the plant," Davis says. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.grist.org/food/2011-08-02-not-your-grandmas-strawberries

[WillParkinson]

1. We were talking about this the other day...

Foods no longer have the same taste as they used to. Now foods are hybrids to ensure looks and longevity but have taken out flavors and nutrients. It's a shame, really.

[hedgehog]

12. I think flavor follows nutrition- what is flavor after all but our response to the

chemical components. I've seen similar results comparing food raised using organic methods vs conventional methods.

I'd compare it to the nutrition profile of whole wheat products vs those made with white flour. Besides fiber, other nutrients are lost when the bran and germ are discarded. The practice is to restore the missing nutrients that have been identified . You can't replace what you don't know you took out.

[xchrom]

2. Recommend

[Electric Monk]

3. Big Yellow Taxi

Give me some spots on my apples, please

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgMEPk6fvpg

[Sarah Ibarruri]

18. Exactly! nt

[formercia]

32. At least they don't use Lead Arsenate on Apples anymore.

Some old orchards are so contaminated, they should be declared Superfund Sites.

I have not used pesticides in over 10 years. Honeybees thrive with the Nectar from my Garden, I was watching a Wasp Yesterday, foraging on one of my plants, looking for an Aphid or some other tidbit to feed its Young. Organic is great, but you have to set up an Ecosystem that attracts the Predator Insects before the pests arrive.
The only problem I had this Year was Deer trimming my veggies. Some Cayenne Pepper powder mixed into melted Vegetable Shortening and dabbed onto the tips of the leaves took care of that problem. Deer do not like spicy food.

[elocs]

4. Well, it may not be PC, but my food tastes just fine to me. n/t

[marmar]

5. PC?

Really?

[elocs]

9. You know, how we're all supposed to hate how our food tastes & how it was so much better

back in the day. I like my food.

[Vinnie From Indy]

26. Well isn't that just hunky dory

You do know that there are some species that eat their own shit and like it. Why you think that your personal preferences mean dick to society at large is a mystery.

[Lorien]

41. My grandparents grew their own food since the 1930's and I have yet to find

produce-organic or otherwise-that has anywhere near the wonderful flavor of what was on their table.

[Lorien]

39. Well then, eat your peas! nt

[TK421]

43. I guess PC has undergone some transformation in its meaning..I missed it

[readmoreoften]

29. Oh well then the science must be wrong. Terribly sorry, sir. Sorry to have disturbed you.

[WinkyDink]

31. Okay, "PC" is a bizarre response. But anyway: Compare and contrast.

[surrealAmerican]

34. It's blander, and that's not a problem for most Americans ...

... but it might still concern you that it's less nutritious, even if the flavor is not an issue.

[txlibdem]

42. Could that be a two-pronged push for the obesity epidemic we face?

It's blander. So children will be even *less* inclined to eat their vegetables, even *more* inclined to want the fast food, take-out, pizza, etc., starting off on the long road to obesity. Some children become obese before first grade nowadays!

The nutrition value is cut in half so you'd have to eat twice as much vegetables to get the same amount of nutrition... which distends your stomach just enough to allow it to hold more cheeseburgers and fries, etc., causing whatever tendency to want "crap" food to be exaggerated and expand our wastelines even more. Vicious circle.

[handmade34]

6. I would disagree

about some of the argument... we old people know that food is certainly not as tasty as 40 years ago and the study shows that they are not as nutritious... part of this is because of selective breeding; selecting the few varieties that produce best and store and ship well...

I would disagree though with Davis' statement that the soil is the same... years of chemical fertilizer and abuse changes the soil... only a full variety of fruits and vegatables grown with healthy, natural fertilizers, compost and additives will return us to eating those tasty foods a lot of us still remember

[Gormy Cuss]

11. I've read other analyses that point to the soil as the culprit,

with too much tilling and use of synthetic fertilizers and herbicides as the main reasons. Many farms have converted to no-till and that's a good start because that leaves areas of undisturbed soil where creatures small and smaller can thrive and feed the soil in the process.

(sorry, no links)

[handmade34]

24. good start

https://www.agronomy.org/publications/aj/pdfs/100/1/136

(academic article)

[Retrograde]

15. Plus it's picked unripe and shipped

I think it's a combination of soil, variety and shipping, as well as lowered expectations on the part of consumers who wouldn't recognize a decent vegetable if they tripped over it.

If you're lucky and know where to look you can still find the older varieties, though: I scored some fresh peas at a farmers' market in western New York in June, and must confess that I ate a fair quantity raw while I was shelling them. Yum!

[onehandle]

7. I spent a month in Europe a couple of years ago. Our veg is sub-standard.

At best.

The vegetables in even large grocery stores was far superior in look, smell, and taste to ours.

[robdogbucky]

35. You don't have to go that far

Just go to British Columbia and try out one of their tomatoes, or some of their blueberries, etc.

Unbelievable. Good, big and plentiful.

[KT2000]

8. Have seen older people

buy organic just to get the better flavor they experienced years ago.

[BeHereNow]

10. I'm waiting for someone to connect the explosion of mental illness with these facts.

Amino acids are essential in neurotransmitter connections in the brain.
If the food we eat doesn't contain an adequate supply of nutrients
then the brain functions are sure to be diminished.
Thus- the sky rocketing numbers of depression and other mental illness diagnoses?
Just thinkin' out loud.
BHN

[hedgehog]

13. What about the explosion in obesity? I know it's popular to blame

it all on fast food, too much TV, high fructose corn syrup, etc. But has anyone down a rigorous study to see if the obese people are really eating a different diet, really not exercising as much as non-obese people? I suspect some people do eat too much of the wrong stuff, but why all of a sudden would so many people fall into that category? How do we know that the "new" obese aren't the sensitive outliers reflecting the subtle changes in our food supply?


Edit - I agree with what you have to say about mental illness. i suspect the uptick in autoimmune disorders is involved as well.

[smirkymonkey]

37. It could be that people are not getting the nourishment they

need from the food they are eating, so they are constantly hungry. Just a theory. Also, I suppose stress could be involved as well.

[xfundy]

23. Having experienced mental illness as a result of chemical imbalance,

I tend to agree.

No longer can we trust our eyes to tell us what is good to buy and eat--that function's been screwed over by the profiteers.

I'm growing organic, or trying to, and loving the results--but I worry, since some of the kitchen waste I've put in the compost bin is undoubtedly not naturally derived/from seed, soil, etc influenced by chemicals/pesticides of unknown origin.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

14. My parents keep telling me that fruit no longer tastes good, that veggies are like cardboard

They also say that fruit and veggies are prettier on the outside but tasteless.

[Electric Monk]

16. Big Yellow Taxi

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1657764#1657806

[JanMichael]

19. Hell I discovered that living in Poland in 1998.

Most of the tomatoes that I bought were locally grown and vine ripened and tasted so TOMATO it was nuts (or really really tomato). I wasn't the only person that noticed it either.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

50. True. The tomatoes now taste like wet, red cardboard. nt

[handmade34]

27. your parents

are correct... can't find a good apple anymore unless you go to a small organic orchard

[Sarah Ibarruri]

40. Yep. nt

[LeftyMom]

17. It's totally worth it to go to farmer's markets and farmstands.

The taste difference between a grocery store tomato (which tastes like nothing, only not as good) and a fresh local heirloom tomato is is enormous. Breeding for machine harvest, storage and shipping instead of for nutrition and taste results in tomatoes that will survive falling off a truck, sitting in a warehouse and being shipped cross country, but that I wouldn't eat on a bet because they're fucking gross.

Oh, and asian markets tend to have excellent produce for cheap as well.

[winstars]

28. Ditto on the FARMERS MARKET and the Asian markets...

Heirloom tomatos, heirloom strawberrys, and now peaches and plums and plucots all here in SoCal in July at the Farmers markets. Squash, eggplant, corn... rocking at my Farmers market in Torrance... Nice big bunches of basil, italian parsley, mint and cilantro for like a dollar a piece... whole free range chickens that are maybe 4 lbs tops, you need 2 chickens for 4 people because they are small due to no "vitamins"... Yes it does cost more but not double or anything ... cheaper than Whole Foods for sure. not as cheap as the supermarket stuff but......

[astral]

20. Why are they saying the soil is the same? It's the lack of MINERALS in the soil

The soil is mineral-deficient and so are the things that grow in it. Minerals get sucked up into the produce and after a time the minerals are absent from the soil and the produce still gets re-planted without anything being done about it.

[LeftyMom]

25. RTFA. The high yield plants produce less nutritious food WHEN GROWN IN THE EXACT SAME SOIL.

Soil issues aside, the plants themselves are a problem.

[SpiralHawk]

21. Industrial Ag (R) has trashed our food, our land, our water, and our health

Ptooey on Republicon Family Values applied to ag, or anything else for that matter.

[amborin]

47. and other species, esp birds: massive decline in bird populations

esp farmbirds, or those dependent one way or another on farmland (before intensive/cap't ag)

[KittyWampus]

22. Magnesium is horribly lacking.

[FloridaJudy]

30. Noticed that the fruits/veggies in the "organic" section

Of the supermarket smell much better than the ones in the regular sections, but even they lack something. The apples look real pretty and taste sweet, but they're nearly scentless. Every once in a while I run across a bag of winesaps and snatch it up: yup - tastes like an apple. Smells the way a real apple should, so it's not just my ageing nose.

BTW, every single apple you buy in the supermarket is a clone. Fun science fact.

[Arkansas Granny]

33. Most commercially grown produce is selected for it's yield and how well it ships.

Taste and nutrition is not the primary focus.

[arikara]

36. My neighbor brought me a bag of raspberries

and oh my god but they were sublime.

"Produce" now is "developed", not grown with love and care. I read somewhere that the main criteria is to make it for shipping, they also look for uniformity of size, resistance to pests and pesticides. Consideration to taste follows that, way down the list and the least consideration is nutrition. They don't make any money off that.

It is picked green. Some like tomatoes is ripened with some kind of gas, thats why you see a pile of tomatoes all the same colour in the bin. That would not be possible if ripened naturally. Store bought tomatoes are horrible now, taste like wet cardboard.

[TK421]

44. We always had tomatoes in the garden, and I remember picking them

and sitting them on the windowsill in direct sunlight..

When those things turned red, they were fantastic

[Brickbat]

38. So buy heirlooms, and save seeds. I get my seeds from Victory Seeds, and they're awesome.

[DirkGently]

45. Time for nutritional labels on produce. Otherwise it's grown for speed, weight, & durability. Profit

[txlibdem]

46. K&R - right on all counts!

I complain about this all the time.

One thing that will solve the numerous problems with our current farming methods: Vertical Farms
http://www.verticalfarm.com

Another positive step: grocery stores build greenhouses to grow hydroponic produce on their roof
http://inhabitat.com/nyc/nyc-based-brightfarms-wants-to-bring-hydroponic-greenhouses-to-a-grocery-store-near-you/brightfarms6/

[bvar22]

48. !!!

The Factory Food Production, Packaging, Transportation, and Delivery system in the USA
is hopelessly contaminated.
My wife & I got so SICK of Fruits, Veggies, and Meats that tasted like cardboard,
that we moved to The Woods and started growing our own in 2006.

Health concerns aside,
we would do this for the taste only!

:hippie:

[yawnmaster]

49. Just take a vitamin pill, then you don't have to eat so much of those vegetables...

leaving more room for bacon!