The article only cites a few studies that show the nutrient content of crops is decreasing. For example, the study you mentioned [1] was "Changes in USDA Food C

The article only cites a few studies that show the nutrient content of crops is decreasing. For example, the study you mentioned [1] was "Changes in USDA Food Composition Data for 43 Garden Crops, 1950 to 1999" and showed "apparent, statistically reliable declines" in 6 nutrients. The part of the article that you've quoted is simply Davis' opinion, not the subject of that study. The author has a different opinion. I don't know who is right, which is why I said it's "not an uncommon view". I don't know if that debate has been settled. The article doesn't cite any studies examining the cause of this nutrient depletion, and I didn't find any studies of the cause with a few Google Scholar searches for soil depletion and related terms. If you know of any research that answers the question I'd love to read it. 1: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.2004.10719409 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.2004.10...