MadSci Network: Agricultural Sciences
Query:

Re: Does agricultural produce contain the same nutritional value as it used to?

Area: Agricultural Sciences
Posted By: Gary Bachman, Grad Student Horticulture-Plant Physiology, Ohio State University.
Date: Sun Jul 20 18:00:23 1997
Area of science: Agricultural Sciences
ID: 862769722.Ag
Message:
Larry this is an outstanding question dealing with many philosophical and 
cultural interpretations that must be considered. I do not intend to give a 
complete answer but rather to shed some light on the 'problem' of vegetable 
nutrition. 

It is true that intensive farming removes nutrient elements faster than 
they are replenished naturally. To overcome this problem these nutrients 
must be added to the soil by the farmer to ensure the plant receives proper 
nutrition to make produce. 

Now here is where there is great disagreement, and you should be able to 
determine where I stand. On one side are the farmers who use inorganic
fertilizers. These are man-made nutrients that are able to replace lost 
nutrients and you can purchase them anywhere. These do not, for the most 
part add any structure to the soil. Now the other side are the people who 
use organic fertilizers. These are produced from the breakdown of organic 
materials to make compost and such. When added to the soil nutrients are 
replaced, and structure is added. When compared to inorganic ferilizers 
large quantities must be added to achieve the same level of fertility. 

People will swear that vegetables grown with organic fertilizer taste 
better, are more nutritious, easier for the plant to assimilate, etc. But 
remember that for
the plant to assimilate nutrients some basic chemistry must happen and 
whatever the elemental source, the chemistry is the same and the form of the 
nutrients that are assimilated are the same. 

There may be a couple of reasons why food products are losing their 
nutrtional values. First due to selective breeding, because we like our 
veggies to be
perfect in appearance, color, and shape, some nutrient value has been lost 
in the process. Secondly, canning and processing certainly does remove 
nutrients from our food. In order to have the convenience of vegetables 
that last for years in our cupboards we have traded nutrition. 

I hope this has stimulated some thought on the subject. One thing to 
remember: If you grow vegetables in your garden, no matter what way you 
decide to fertilize, your harvest will contain more than enough nutrition 
for your family and yourself. 


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