Fresh Produce Half As Nutritious As 60 Years Ago, Finds Study

A new study has highlighted significant declines in the nutritional value of a range of crops since the 1960s, including fruits and vegetables, prompting renewed focus on the role of soil health, crop breeding, and production systems in maintaining nutrient density.

Research by Deep Science Ventures (DSV) indicates that concentrations of minerals including potassium, magnesium, copper, and zinc have fallen by between 20% and 50% in certain crops over the past six decades, reports The Independent.

The findings in DSV’s Hollow Harvests report, which was conducted in collaboration with The Mark Leonard Trust, cover a range of agricultural commodities, including wheat, apples, carrots, and peas.

DSV’s study suggests that substantially greater quantities of fruits and vegetables would need to be consumed now to deliver the same nutrient intake that was available from fresh produce in the 1960s.

The report links the decline in nutrient density to changes in agricultural production, including decades of breeding and farming programmes focused heavily on yield improvement.

That productivity drive has delivered substantial gains, with cereal yields per hectare increasing by 215% since the 1960s, while global undernutrition has fallen significantly. 

However, the researchers argue that production gains need to be considered alongside the nutritional characteristics of the crops being grown.

“For sixty years we’ve measured food security in calories and tonnes per hectare, and on those measures we've done remarkably well. But we've been quietly hollowing out what’s inside our food,” noted Will Summers, senior associate, climate at DSV.

Building Soil Health To Drive Change

The researchers argue that addressing nutrient decline requires a combination of approaches, including plant breeding, improved soil management, changes to agricultural markets, and supportive policy.

Soil health is a particular focus, with the report identifying it as a potential route to improving nutrient density while also supporting productivity and climate resilience. 

“The good news is that we already have the tools to fix this, in breeding, soil health, markets and policy,” Summers pointed out. 

“What’s been missing is the recognition that this problem is worth measuring and solving at its source.”

Healthy soil is the foundation of healthy food, according to Sian Ferguson, Trust Executive at The Mark Leonard Trust.

“This report shows that rebuilding soil health is one of the few measures that can improve nutrient density, yields and climate resilience all at once, and farmers can do it profitably today,” she explained.

“The challenge is helping them through the first few years of transition,” Ferguson continued. "That is where funders, investors and governments can make the biggest difference.”

DSV’s report calls on government, industry, and investors to act without delay in order to drive change at production level.

Priority recommendations include measuring nutrient density alongside yield, and updating the UK’s food composition data, which was last comprehensively revised for fruit and vegetables in 1991.

DSV also suggests making nutritional quality an explicit target in breeding and farm policy, supporting research from soil to human uptake, and prioritising near-term innovations such as raising soil organic matter. 

Read the full report here.