50 Facts About Homegrown Produce
Source 1.:
1. Beta carotene found in carrots and sweet potatoes has been shown to help protect against lung cancer, but may be harmful when taken in pill form.
2. Tomatoes are best if stored between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Heat can unlock a very beneficial nutrient in tomatoes called lycopene, which has antioxidant properties.
4. Some produce is artificially ripened with ethylene, a gas that plants produce naturally.
5. Growers who ship their produce cross-country may favor certain varieties over others not for their taste, but because they travel well.
6. Compounds called phytochemicals provide protection for plants and may give humans some padding against aging.
7. Lycopene and beta carotene are phytochemicals; anthocyanin are another kind.
8. Anthocyanins have been shown to aid memory.
9. Eating an arrangement of colors will ensure you get an assortment of nutrients and protective phytochemicals.
10. Supermarket tomatoes are frequently picked green before they have the chance to fully develop flavor, which helps them withstand transport.
Source 2.:
1. Organically grown food has more minerals and nutrients than food grown with synthetic pesticides.
2. Organic farming starts with the nourishment of the soil, which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant and, ultimately, our bodies.
3. The average child receives four times more exposure than an adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food.
4. More than 3 billion tons of topsoil are eroded from the Unite States' croplands each year.
5. Soil erodes seven times faster than it's build up naturally.
6. Soil is the foundation of the food chain in organic farming.
7. In conventional farming, the soil is used more as a medium for holding plants in a vertical position so they can be chemically fertilized.
8. Water makes up two-thirds of our body mass.
9. The Environmental Protection Agency, estimates pesticides- some cancer causing - contaminate the groundwater in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country's population.
10. Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming 12 percent of the country's totally energy supply.
Source 3.:
1. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate and harvest all the crops in the United States.
2. Many pesticides approved for use by the EPA were registered long before extensive research linking these chemicals to cancer and other diseases had been established.
3.The EPA considers 60% of all herbicides, 90% of all fungicides and 30% of all insecticides carcinogenic.
4. Pesticides might cause an extra 4 million cancer cases among Americans.
5. In addition to cancer, pesticides are implicated in birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutations.
6. Farmers exposed to herbicides had six times more risk than non-farmers of contracting cancer.
7. In California, reported pesticide poisonings among farm workers have risen an average of 14% a year since 1973.
8. Field workers suffer the highest rates of occupational illness in the state.
9. An estimated 1 million people are poisoned annually by pesticides.
10. The United States has lost more than 650,000 family farms in the past decade.
Source 4.:
1. The USDA predicted that half of this country's farm production will come from 1% of farms by the year 2000.
2. Mono-cropping is the practice of planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year.
3. This approach tripled farm production between 1950 and 1970, but the lack of natural diversity of plant life has left the soil lacking in natural minerals and nutrients.
4.To replace the nutrients, chemical fertilizers are used, often in increasing amounts.
5. Single crops are also much more susceptible to pests, making farmers more reliant on pesticides.
6.Despite a tenfold increase in the use of pesticides between 1947 and 1974, crop losses due to insects have doubled.
7. Some insects have become genetically resistant to certain pesticides.
8. Today's store-bought tomatoes are varieties picked for their ease of shipping and for their ability to turn red even when unripe.
9. Mechanical harvesting methods used in most commercial farms today have a higher probability of bruising or injuring the produce.
10. This type of damage can accelerate nutrient loss or even affect the ability of the fruit to fully ripen.
Source 5.:
1. Store bought food is harvested before it's ripe so it won't spoil before it is sold.
2. Premature harvesting interrupts the natural ripening process of produce and limits the food's ability to develop it's full nutrient potential.
3. Tomatoes have 31% less vitamin C than those allowed to ripen on the vine.
4. Peppers have 30% less vitamin C than green peppers.
5. Vine ripened tomatoes contain more of the important antioxidants, beta carotene and lycopene than those harvested prematurely.
6. Produce steadily lose vitamins while in storage.
7. Lettuce loses 46% of some key nutrients within seven days of storage.
8. Spinach loses 22% of lutein and 18% of beta carotene content after just eight days of storage.
9. Culinary herbs contain significant amounts of antioxidants.
10. The antioxidants decrease rapidly after harvest.
Sources:
1. http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/cancer/articles/2010/07/30/health-benefits-of-home-grown-produce
2. http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/top-10-reasons-to-grow-your-own-organic-food
3. http://www.kidsgardening.org/node/1116
4. http://www.livestrong.com/article/246110-benefits-of-garden-vegetables/
5. http://www.aerogardenblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/White-Paper.pdf
1. Beta carotene found in carrots and sweet potatoes has been shown to help protect against lung cancer, but may be harmful when taken in pill form.
2. Tomatoes are best if stored between 50 and 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Heat can unlock a very beneficial nutrient in tomatoes called lycopene, which has antioxidant properties.
4. Some produce is artificially ripened with ethylene, a gas that plants produce naturally.
5. Growers who ship their produce cross-country may favor certain varieties over others not for their taste, but because they travel well.
6. Compounds called phytochemicals provide protection for plants and may give humans some padding against aging.
7. Lycopene and beta carotene are phytochemicals; anthocyanin are another kind.
8. Anthocyanins have been shown to aid memory.
9. Eating an arrangement of colors will ensure you get an assortment of nutrients and protective phytochemicals.
10. Supermarket tomatoes are frequently picked green before they have the chance to fully develop flavor, which helps them withstand transport.
Source 2.:
1. Organically grown food has more minerals and nutrients than food grown with synthetic pesticides.
2. Organic farming starts with the nourishment of the soil, which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant and, ultimately, our bodies.
3. The average child receives four times more exposure than an adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food.
4. More than 3 billion tons of topsoil are eroded from the Unite States' croplands each year.
5. Soil erodes seven times faster than it's build up naturally.
6. Soil is the foundation of the food chain in organic farming.
7. In conventional farming, the soil is used more as a medium for holding plants in a vertical position so they can be chemically fertilized.
8. Water makes up two-thirds of our body mass.
9. The Environmental Protection Agency, estimates pesticides- some cancer causing - contaminate the groundwater in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country's population.
10. Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming 12 percent of the country's totally energy supply.
Source 3.:
1. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate and harvest all the crops in the United States.
2. Many pesticides approved for use by the EPA were registered long before extensive research linking these chemicals to cancer and other diseases had been established.
3.The EPA considers 60% of all herbicides, 90% of all fungicides and 30% of all insecticides carcinogenic.
4. Pesticides might cause an extra 4 million cancer cases among Americans.
5. In addition to cancer, pesticides are implicated in birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutations.
6. Farmers exposed to herbicides had six times more risk than non-farmers of contracting cancer.
7. In California, reported pesticide poisonings among farm workers have risen an average of 14% a year since 1973.
8. Field workers suffer the highest rates of occupational illness in the state.
9. An estimated 1 million people are poisoned annually by pesticides.
10. The United States has lost more than 650,000 family farms in the past decade.
Source 4.:
1. The USDA predicted that half of this country's farm production will come from 1% of farms by the year 2000.
2. Mono-cropping is the practice of planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year.
3. This approach tripled farm production between 1950 and 1970, but the lack of natural diversity of plant life has left the soil lacking in natural minerals and nutrients.
4.To replace the nutrients, chemical fertilizers are used, often in increasing amounts.
5. Single crops are also much more susceptible to pests, making farmers more reliant on pesticides.
6.Despite a tenfold increase in the use of pesticides between 1947 and 1974, crop losses due to insects have doubled.
7. Some insects have become genetically resistant to certain pesticides.
8. Today's store-bought tomatoes are varieties picked for their ease of shipping and for their ability to turn red even when unripe.
9. Mechanical harvesting methods used in most commercial farms today have a higher probability of bruising or injuring the produce.
10. This type of damage can accelerate nutrient loss or even affect the ability of the fruit to fully ripen.
Source 5.:
1. Store bought food is harvested before it's ripe so it won't spoil before it is sold.
2. Premature harvesting interrupts the natural ripening process of produce and limits the food's ability to develop it's full nutrient potential.
3. Tomatoes have 31% less vitamin C than those allowed to ripen on the vine.
4. Peppers have 30% less vitamin C than green peppers.
5. Vine ripened tomatoes contain more of the important antioxidants, beta carotene and lycopene than those harvested prematurely.
6. Produce steadily lose vitamins while in storage.
7. Lettuce loses 46% of some key nutrients within seven days of storage.
8. Spinach loses 22% of lutein and 18% of beta carotene content after just eight days of storage.
9. Culinary herbs contain significant amounts of antioxidants.
10. The antioxidants decrease rapidly after harvest.
Sources:
1. http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/cancer/articles/2010/07/30/health-benefits-of-home-grown-produce
2. http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/top-10-reasons-to-grow-your-own-organic-food
3. http://www.kidsgardening.org/node/1116
4. http://www.livestrong.com/article/246110-benefits-of-garden-vegetables/
5. http://www.aerogardenblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/White-Paper.pdf