Did you Know? Fresh peas can lose up to 50 percent of their nutrients within a week of harvesting.
Did you Know? The transportation by air of a 200gm bunch of Chilean grapes will generate one and a half kilograms of greenhouse gas – equivalent to leaving a light bulb on all weekend.
Food miles can lead to few remaining nutrients when the produce eventually gets to us. Fruit and vegetables travel thousands of miles to reach supermarkets. When we go to the supermarket we are faced with a vast array of fruit and vegetables – sometimes organic. But the food that we assume is fresh and nutritious is often quite the reverse. Just because the food is organic does not mean it is grown locally – it too can travel thousands of miles before it reaches the local supermarket or shop.
Time and travel reduce vital nutrients. Spinach stored at room temperature loses between 50 and 90 percent of its vitamin C within 24 hours of being picked. Time and exposure to light destroys folic acid, a vital nutrient in many green leafy vegetables. Vitamin C, the B vitamins and vitamin E are all important antioxidants that protect against disease, because they attack free radicals which cause oxidative stress and damage our cells leading to cancer and heart disease. These vitamins are particularly sensitive to time. These vitamins are often not in fruit and vegetables that are picked green – they are picked green so they will survive long distance transport.