It was a dire warning that the mineral content of the soil was eroding. Vegetables were losing their power, and people were at risk.
Unfortunately, Congress did nothing.
Today, we're feeling the effects...
Minerals like iron and magnesium have dropped by more than 80%. That's from commercial-farming technology and powerful fertilizers that practically sterilize the soil — leaving it with little to no mineral content.
If the soil doesn't have minerals, there's no way for vegetables to absorb them.
And that's bad news for your health. Magnesium regulates over 300 bodily functions every day and is critical to heart health and healthy glucose metabolism.
But the story doesn't end there.
I wasn't the only one to realize your fruits and vegetables don't pack the nutritional punch they used to. A report from the University of Texas in Austin also tracked the decline of nutrients in produce.
They reported findings at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in St. Louis. They found significant drops in a wide range of produce across the board, including a 20% decline in vitamin C and a 38% plunge in vitamin B2.
What's worse, fruit and vegetable growers create "hybrids" for the sake of making their produce "look better."
They actually create new versions of all your favorites so they have more water, more sugar, more pith (the indigestible support tissue like the white fibrous netting around an orange section), and less of everything else.
Growers call this the "dilution effect." For them, more water and more pith help their produce ship well, look good, and weigh a lot.
But it virtually wipes out their vitamin and mineral content.
The plunge in nutrients in your produce over the past 30 to 50 years is bad enough. But it is rapidly getting much worse...
Genetic hybrids are pushing nutrient values even lower.
A popular broccoli hybrid called "Marathon" is an alarming example:
By the USDA's own admission, levels of calcium and magnesium in the Marathon hybrid are 35% lower than other hybrids. The hybrids themselves are 50% lower in calcium and magnesium than "normal" broccoli. And the "normal" broccoli has less than half the calcium and magnesium than broccoli did in 1975!
In less than 50 years, the mineral, vitamin and antioxidant value native to fruits and vegetables has been virtually "destroyed" — robbing you of the natural vital nutrients you need every day.