“Medical Journal Says Trace Minerals in Fruits and Vegetables Have Declined Up To 76% Since 1940!”
What if you read headlines like this in your local newspaper, or heard them being announced on the evening news—what would you think? What would you do?
Would you go looking for those vegetable seeds you bought a few years ago? Move to the country and plant a garden?
Those frightening news releases, though, aren’t imaginary headlines—they are real!
And there is growing global concern that the super-modern, agri-giant, mechanized farming systems we have developed and championed aren’t working as planned. We are the most overfed—yet undernourished—people ever seen on planet Earth.
What happened?
No one factor can be blamed, but here are three generally recognized concerns:
1. Over-farming and one-crop farming have led to severe trace mineral depletion of crop soil. When there are fewer nutrients in the soil, there are fewer nutrients available to plants grown there.
2. There is no way the best synthetic fertilizer available can replace the natural nutritive value of organic compost. Synthetics are primarily composed of three nutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Compost provides (the natural form of) those and much more. Crops, like people, need a variety of nutrients in order to thrive.
3. We no longer get our vegetables from the garden out back. More likely, they are grown hundreds or thousands of miles away from home, picked early, and transported by truck or rail. Moreover, much of what we eat is not fresh at all—it has been subjected to an assembly line series of processes for mixing, canning, freezing, or bagging before it reaches the dinner table. Food math goes like this: the more a food is processed, the less valuable it is nutritionally.
Is there a solution?
In the long term, we need to reevaluate and redesign our agricultural system. In the short-term: Get as much of your food as you can from trusted local sources. Support organic and natural foods. And be glad you are a Melaleuca customer … Oligo™ can help fill the gap between the vitamins and minerals you are getting and the vitamins and minerals you need.
(Visit www.VFL.com for more wellness and dieting tips)
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I am no farmer, just a farmer’s wife and very passionate about growing our food for our farm store.
The fix to the above:
1) Crop rotation, no-till which is GREAT for our soil, leaving behind the natural organic matter. Rather than working the ground to a fine pulp.
2) Cover crops, ie; planting into rye. Great for the crop planted and great for our soil.
3) The more local the better. The sooner you eat anything the the more nutritional value it is to you and not to mention the taste is incredible. It’s not hard to find local food.
In the long term, we as a farming family are here for the long run and we don’t want to hurt our soil, health, environment, etc. As we want to leave it in good shape for our children’s grandchildren and so on. Short term, support your local farmers, organic or not. Canada is very, very, very strict with food laws. And that is why local anything is good for you. Also, get to know the farmer who is growing your food. We love when people show interest in how we grow our produce.
I could be wrong about this, but isn’t synthetic fertilizer primarily composed of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium (not Calcium)?
Thank you for catching that misprint, Timothy. The copy has been corrected.