What’s Behind the Invisible Decline in Nutrient Density?
Quite a lot it seems.To get straight to the point, here are the top causes of nutrient declines in food (over time):
Soil health decline; in large part due to a loss in microbial life and diversity
The widespread and increased use of agrochemicals, such as pesticides and synthetic fertilisers
Dramatic losses in global biodiversity
Increased use of modern high-yield, genetically modified varieties of crops and animal breeds
‘Nutrient dilution’ from increased yields
Food processing, preparation and storage
Declines in seasonal, local eating coupled with a more global food system and increased food miles
Elevated atmospheric CO2
There drivers are not necessarily in order of importance and all of them impact food quality in different measures and in different ways.
Prof. Carlo Leifert from Southern Cross University, Australia who heads up the Centre for Organics Research says, “
What our research shows, is that almost every input that we’ve used in large quantities through the so called Green Revolution has been shown to have a negative impact on our food quality”.
Then, there's the Issue of Globalisation and Ultra-Processing.
The entire discussion surrounding nutrient declines over time (and associated health impacts) is based on three major assumptions;
That we are eating Australian grown food,
That the food we’re eating is in season and is fresh,
That we’re eating whole foods.
If your oranges are from California, garlic from China and asparagus from Mexico; then everything gets a whole lot more complex because the journey from farm to fork is has become an ultra-marathon… and of course the nutrient density has been slashed considerably because ultra-marathons are exhausting for food too!
The amount of processing that happens post-harvesting also cannot be overlooked. Before a food gets to your mouth, it may have undergone a range of post-harvest operations, including cleaning/sterilising, irradiation, milling, separating, mixing, drying/hydrating, heating, dispersing, packaging, storage, distribution and transport.
Remember, the more we mess with the primary food, the lower the overall nutrient content.
Given that around 1/3 of what Australian’s eat is actually ultra-processed, deficiencies don’t just reflect “poor soil health” and nutrient declines, they reflect our collective consumption of hollow foods and the desire eat foods that aren’t local or seasonal.
The good news is there are many solutions which are already being implemented by a growing number of regenerative producers, which in my view is arguably the most important work that is being done in the nutrition space.
Times are a-changing, because they have to!
If you'd like to read more, check out the full article HERE, published on Medium. It's a long read, so clear the schedule for 15 minutes and settle in for a cuppa.
