Nutrients declining in food supply.

• Author: Rakestraw, Darcey

In the January/March issue of The Food Magazine, British nutritionist David Thomas reports that the mineral content of meat and milk products has declined significantly in the past 60 years. Analyzing food nutrient data from 1940 and 2002, Thomas found that the iron content in 15 different meat items fell on average 47 percent, though some products showed a decline as high as 80 percent. The iron content of milk dropped by more than 60 percent, while the loss for cream and eight different cheeses was over 50 percent. Thomas concluded that a transition to high-fat, high-calorie, and highly processed foods lacking in micronutrients has caused people to be simultaneously overfed and undernourished.

Other research has found that while the "bad" fat and calorie content in meat and poultry is increasing, the beneficial fat in these foods is decreasing. A 2004 study from London Metropolitan University revealed that eating the same weight of chicken today compared to 30 years ago yields twice as many calories but one-third to one-eighth the omega-3 fatty acids (the "good" fats). The shift to more intensive animal production has led...