Page 38 - Anandamela 2019

studied nutrient data from 1975 to 1997. Its researchers found that average
calcium levels in 12 fresh vegetables dropped 27 percent; iron levels 37 per-
cent; vitamin A levels 21 percent, and vitamin C levels 30 percent.

A study of compara ve of nutrient data published in the Bri sh Food Jour-
nal collected evidence that the average calcium content in 20 vegetables had
declined 19 percent, iron 22 per cent and potassium 14 per cent. Another
study concluded that today one must consume eight oranges to obtain an
equivalent amount of vitamin A as our grandparents would have from one.

What caused the degrada on of agricultural topsoil? With the advent of the
20th century, the use of tractors, harvesters, bailers, etc. transformed agri-
cultural prac ces. Farmers were not concerned with replenishing the soil
a er harvest.

Many trees were cut down to make huge expanses of agricultural flat land.
Deep plowing disrupted the underground micro-organisms and the natural
ecology of the soil. By the 1960s, farmers began to use huge quan es of
NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) fer lizer made from synthe cally
produced ingredients usually derived from by-products of the petroleum in-
dustry. Examples are Ammonium Nitrate, Ammonium Phosphate, Superphos-
phate, and Potassium Sulfate.

Plants require 13 nutrients. There are three primary macronutrients; nitro-
gen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). These nutrients are used in sig-
nificant amounts by growing plants, so they must be replaced periodically to
sustain produc vity.

The secondary nutrients are; calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S).
There are usually enough of these nutrients in the soil, so addi onal fer liza-
on is not always needed. The micronutrients used in small quan es are;
boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), chloride (Cl), manganese (Mn), molyb-
denum (Mo) and zinc (Zn).

Chemical fer lizers add nutrients to the soil, but they don’t add anything
else. Plants needs more than just nutrients to survive. They also need organic
ma er and living organisms. Synthe c fer lizers do not support microbiologi-
cal life in the soil. The applica on of a synthe c fer lizer actually kills a sig-

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