“These techniques [industrial farming] give growers higher yields, and consumers get less expensive food. But now it appears there’s a hidden long-term cost — lowered food quality.”  Mother Earth News

Whose report will you believe?

By wisdom the LORD founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.  (Prov. 3:19; NLT)

How many times have you heard people supposedly in the know that money spent on supplements is a waste?  Just eat a well-balanced meal and you will get all the nutrients you need.

I say “supposedly in the know” because the evidence is rapidly mounting that researchers have known since the 1940’s “that yield increases produced by fertilization, irrigation and other environmental means used in industrial farming tend to decrease the concentrations of minerals in those plants.”  Surprised?

Here are some startling stats from today’s link:

• In wheat and barley, protein concentrations declined by 30 to 50 percent between the years 1938 and 1990.
• Six minerals have declined by 22 to 39 percent in 14 widely grown wheat varieties developed over the past 100 years.
• Official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data shows that the calcium content of broccoli averaged 12.9 milligrams per gram of dry weight in 1950, but only 4.4 mg/g dry weight in 2003.
• A study of phosphorous fertilizer on raspberries found that applying high levels of phosphorus caused the yield to double and concentrations of phosphorus to increase in the plants, but meanwhile levels of eight other minerals declined by 20 to 55 percent.

Along those same lines, allow me to quote some from our new book, UNCOMMON Wellness Coaching.  “In 1951, two peaches supplied a woman’s RDA for vitamin A. Today she would have to eat almost 53 peaches to get the same amount of vitamin A. And the same with oranges. Now you would need to eat at least 10 oranges to get the same amount of vitamin A that your grandparents got in one.  So it’s impossible to eat a healthy, balanced diet if the nutrient value in the food is gone.”

Bottom line…supplementation is not an option!

Prayer Power
Father, sadly we must acknowledge that our quest for higher yield and lower costs is now coming back to haunt us.  Just one more example of man thinking that he had a better way than the Original Manufacturer.  Please forgive our presumptuous attitudes.

Industrial Farming is Giving us Less Nutritious Food

Blessings on you as begin to do the research to take responsibility for your own health.