Fruits, vegetables not as nutritious as 50 years ago

Donald Davis, a biochemist at the University of Texas in Austin, said that of 13 major nutrients in fruits and vegetables tracked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1950 to 1999, six showed noticeable declines.

The six declining nutrients are protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin and vitamin C. The declines were 6 percent for protein, 15 percent for iron, 20 percent for vitamin C, and 38 percent for riboflavin.