Accepted Quote by Barbara Kingsolver
“Mom is losing, no doubt, because our vegetables have come to lack two features of interest: nutrition and flavor. Storage and transport take predictable tolls on the volatile plant compounds that subtly add up to taste and food value. Breeding to increase shelf life also has tended to decrease palatability. Bizarre as it seems, we've accepted a tradeoff that amounts to: "Give me every vegetable in every season, even if it tastes like a cardboard picture of its former self."”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Vegetable, The New Yorker, 2015
Modern agriculture prioritizes year‑round availability and long shelf life, often sacrificing nutrition and flavor due to storage, transport, and breeding choices.
In simple terms: We trade taste and health for convenience.
Key Takeaway
Demand better‑balanced food production.
Themes
food industry
nutrition
flavor
convenience
agriculture
trade‑offs
Mood
reflective
concerned
Type
critical
observational
When to use this quote
- grocery shopping
- meal planning
- policy advocacy
Key Concepts
shelf life
volatile compounds
breeding
consumer expectations
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we value taste and nutrition equally?
- What policies could incentivize flavorful, nutritious crops?
A Different Perspective
Convenient produce may still lack essential nutrients and enjoyment.
![“We have reached a situation where a theory has been accepted as fact by some, and possible contrary evidence is shunted aside. [This is] mythology rather than science.” quote by Robert Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c31/robert-shapiro-26969_accepted_we-have-reached-a-situation-where-a-theo_19120.jpg)
