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Join today<\/a><\/p>\n \n Already a member? Nothing causes a great British argument quite like a Sunday roast<\/a>. Points of contention include the correct method for achieving a perfect fluffy-to-crispy potato ratio, whether Yorkshire puddings are unwelcome intruders on plates with anything but beef<\/a> and, more recently, if mayo and ketchup are unforgivable offences. In case there\u2019s any doubt, there is a correct answer to the latter. <\/p>\n With all that in the mix, it\u2019s rare that we dispute the copper content of the carrots or worry about the B vitamins<\/a> in the beef. But perhaps we should. New research suggests that some of the essential parts of Sunday lunch are considerably less nutritious than they were 80 years ago. <\/p>\n A report published by Deep Science Ventures (DSV) this week found that some crops contain between 20 and 50 per cent fewer nutrients<\/a> than they did in 1940. Researchers found that average iron concentrations across 29 fruits and vegetables<\/a> had fallen by 50 per cent, copper was down 49 per cent and magnesium 10 per cent. Calcium and potassium had also fallen. <\/p>\n Carrots, potatoes, peas and cabbage were among the vegetables studied \u2013 most of the components of a respectable Sunday lunch before you mention the meat.<\/p>\n Speaking of which, the DSV study comes after research by the Quadram Institute, examining beef from British supermarkets in 2024 with a government survey from 1992, which found that our roasting joints don\u2019t fare much better. They found substantially lower levels of iodine and several B vitamins, including B1, B2, B6, B12 and folate. <\/p>\n In 2026, we\u2019re used to hearing that our food<\/a> is full of things we shouldn\u2019t be eating. Now, it appears, we also have to worry that it might be missing things that we actually need. <\/p>\n Take the vegetables. Iron carries oxygen around the body. Too little of it can leave us feeling exhausted, or worse, anaemic. Copper helps use that iron, while magnesium keeps our muscles and nerves working properly. Potassium regulates blood pressure. <\/p>\n If you thought all you had to worry about with your meat was its protein content, think again. B vitamins do all sorts of things: they help turn food into energy, support the nervous system and produce healthy red blood cells. A shortage of B12 can cause anaemia and nerve damage, and folate is especially important for pregnant women. Iodine liaises with the thyroid to regulate our metabolism. <\/p>\n You\u2019re probably not thinking about any of this as you\u2019re loading up your plate on a Sunday (and, hopefully, not covering it in mayo) but you\u2019d certainly notice if you weren\u2019t getting enough of them.<\/p>\n For 60 years we\u2019ve measured food security in calories and tonnes per hectare, and on those measures we\u2019ve done remarkably well. But we\u2019ve been quietly hollowing out what\u2019s inside our food<\/p>\n Will Summers, senior associate on climate at DSV<\/p>\n It\u2019s not all bad news. The beef report also found that levels of iron, selenium, calcium, magnesium and potassium were higher in today\u2019s samples than they were 34 years ago. Selenium, for example, supports the immune system and the thyroid. <\/p>\n The same report said the results could be explained simply by better laboratory testing, although breeding and feeding might have played a role. So it would be a tad premature to declare beef off the Sunday lunch menu. <\/p>\n The more complicated question is; what happened to our vegetables?<\/p>\n \u201cFor 60 years we\u2019ve measured food security in calories and tonnes per hectare, and on those measures we\u2019ve done remarkably well,\u201d said Will Summers, senior associate on climate at DSV. \u201cBut we\u2019ve been quietly hollowing out what\u2019s inside our food.\u201d<\/p>\n Modern farming<\/a> has a lot to answer for. Consumers want vegetables that look nice and last a few days in the fridge. Supermarkets want regular and high quantities of those nice-looking vegetables. Farmers have responded with bigger harvests and increasingly efficient methods of production. <\/p>\n Nobody has been particularly interested in watching a carrot\u2019s magnesium content. <\/p>\n One possible consequence is called the \u201cdilution effect\u201d. Crops that are bred to grow bigger, faster and more uniformly can produce more carbohydrate without sucking up the same amount of minerals from the soil, leaving lower concentrations in the final product. That doesn\u2019t affect every vegetable in the aisle, but it\u2019s a well-trodden hypothesis among researchers. <\/p>\n Soil health plays a role too. Repeated ploughing and intensive cultivation to meet high demand can damage soil structure, disturbing the microorganisms that live in it and help plants get their nutrients. Growing the same crops again and again without properly replenishing the soil can, over time, undermine its fertility. <\/p>\n Fertilisers can help replace nutrients, but they come with their own baggage. Maintaining a productive field and maintaining healthy soil aren\u2019t necessarily the same thing.<\/p>\n
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Carrots and potatoes are among the vegetables studied in research (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n
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Modern farming has become remarkably good at producing bigger harvests, but the drive for higher yields may have come at the expense of nutritional quality (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n