Conventionally grown produce is losing its nutrients, and it s only getting worse, according to an article published in Prevention Magazine and posted on MSNBC.com. According to Donald Davis, PhD, senior research consultant for the Bio-Communications Research Institute, selective breeding and synthetic fertilizers are to blame since they diminish a plant s ability to absorb nutrients.
Allegedly, organic farming circumvents these issues. "By avoiding synthetic fertilizers, organic farmers put more stress on plants, and when plants experience stress, they protect themselves by producing phytochemicals," explains Alyson Mitchell, PhD, a professor of nutrition science at the University of California, Davis.
Dr. Ross offers an alternative solution to mitigate the high stress levels found in produce: They could see a shrink, but I suppose there are very few available plant psychiatrists. Seriously, the theories promulgated by these folks are based on no evidence whatsoever, as you might expect from practitioners of alternative medicine.
ACSH s Jeff Stier found Davis observation that "if the produce is smaller, then its level of nutrients will be more concentrated," also to be bizarrely unscientific.
This is clearly PR for the organic food industry, observes Dr. Whelan.
