Nutritional value of fruits and vegetables declining over 60 years

A report by Deep Science Ventures, titled ‘Hollow Harvests: Rebuilding the Nutritional Value of Crops in an Age of Abundant Calories’, indicates that many fruits, vegetables, and cereals contain significantly fewer nutrients than they did six decades ago.

Research highlighted in the report suggests that while modern agriculture has successfully increased global food volume to meet population demands, the focus on maximizing yield per hectare may have come at the expense of nutrient density. Specific findings from a 2022 study published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition compared 29 fruits and vegetables in the UK across 1940, 1991, and 2019. This study identified average reductions of 50.2% in iron concentration, 49.1% in copper, and 9.7% in magnesium.

Potential causes include soil degradation due to intensive farming practices and the selection of fast-growing crop varieties that prioritize quantity over mineral concentration. However, the scientific community remains divided on the exact scale of this decline. Some researchers argue that historical comparisons may be inconsistent due to differences in crop varieties, cultivation methods, and laboratory techniques used over the decades.