Are fruits and vegetables less nutritious than they used to be?

WBUR

Published November 9, 2026 at 8:04 AM AKST

A shopper looks over produce on display at a market, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Salem, N.H. (Charles Krupa/AP)

You might be eating your veggies, but are you getting the nutritional punch you think you are? Maybe not, according to a recent study from Deep Science Ventures (DSV) in the UK revealing that many of our crops are delivering half the nutrients they did 60 years ago. Among them are wheat, apples and carrots.

The reasons, according to DSV senior associate Will Summers, include climate change, soil degradation and breeding faster-growing, higher-yield crops with less nutritional value. Among the dwindling nutrients are potassium, iron, selenium, zinc and more.

Summers and others warn that this is causing micronutrient deficiencies that impact health outcomes in countries like the U.S. and U.K., where food can be high in calories but still lack nutrients.

Here & Now‘s Robin Young speaks with Summers about the problem and potential solutions.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.