Nutrient-Depleted Soil

Agricultural practices are stripping the soil of nutrients with remarkable implications. They are devastating the nutritional value of crops, making dramatic changes at an alarming rate — in less than a lifetime, to be specific. As an example, the presence of Vitamin A has decreased from 41.1 to 100% in 6 items tracked, apple, banana, broccoli, onion, potato, tomato. Of them, both onion and potato saw a 100% loss of Vitamin A, in a 48 year span from 1951-1999.

Advances in science play a major negative role in this problem. People want cheap food and big business wants to turn a profit no matter the cost. Big businesses own much of the farmland that implements the latest scientific chemicals to deftly kill insects. They genetically modify their crops, changing them from their DNA, because these genetically modified foods are better at resisting harsh weather, pesticides and herbicides. In essence, business farmers have created their own nature, with the issue and acceptance of this new, mutant crop.

A few discoveries from long ago are now challenged.

• It was discovered many years ago that rotating crops gave the earth time to replenish its nutrient content.
• It was discovered that bugs dying in the soil decays and restored nutrients to the soil.
• It was discovered that manure from cows was great for fertilizing land.

Science has a different plan.

• You don't need to rotate crops any longer, if you soak the earth with the right commercial pesticides and herbicides.
• You don't have to worry that crops won't grow in bad weather or because of insects. Now there are super fruit and vegetables able to withstand harsh weather, and the pesticides used to kill the would-be crop killers.
• Bugs that died outside now are putting toxins in the earth because they are being poisoned with compounds of toxic chemicals that are harmful to humans as well.
• Now toxic manure is poisoning the land and wildlife.

Review the chart and see for yourself where the nutrients are. You'll notice that there have been more losses than gains in nutrients across the chart. And only two areas showed no content change at all, and that's for Thiamine.