Until the industrial revolution, food production was simple. People ate what they grew or what others grew around them. Diets were limited to the foods that grew in their own climate and growing conditions. Today, in contrast, our food supply is produced both near and far. Our food can reasonably come from all over the world. It’s not uncommon for food to travel thousands of miles before it reaches our tables. There are five basic steps in the farm-to-table process: farm, processing, transportation, market/retail, and table. Some variation exists, but in general, fruits and vegetables are produced on farms. Once the produce is harvested, it is processed, or prepared for retail sale. This may involve simply washing and packaging the produce, like in the case of lettuce greens or apples, or it may also include steps to preserve the food for longer periods of times, such as freezing, canning, or drying. Once the produce is prepared for sale, it is transported to a store or marketplace where consumers purchase the produce for consumption in their home.
Fruits and vegetables are part of a healthy diet. If following the dietary recommendations given in MyPlate, half of a plate should be fruits and vegetables. They contain important vitamins and minerals as well as fiber and antioxidants. Vitamins and minerals help maintain a variety of healthy functions and prevent disease. Each has an important role inside. Certain foods contain more nutrients than other foods. Food are considered nutrient dense if they contain relatively low calories and high levels of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, lean proteins, or healthy fats. If foods are low in nutrients and high in calories, they are considered empty calories.
Every fruit and vegetable requires their own specific growing conditions for successful production. Fruits such as oranges, bananas, and pineapples require a warm, tropical, or sub-tropical climate and do not tolerate cold temperatures. Other produce such as potatoes thrive in cooler weather. Vegetables such as beets, turnips, carrots, kale and cabbage not only prefer cooler temperatures, but actually require exposure to low temperatures to promote flowering of the plant through a process called vernalization. In addition to temperature requirements, some fruits or vegetables require specific types of soil that may only be found in specific geographical regions. For example, blueberries prefer acidic soil. Our grocery stores are stocked with a wide variety of produce due to our ability to transport food from many climates and growing regions throughout the world.
For more than 12,000 years, people have been discovering ways to preserve food. Even with modern-day food production and transportation, not all foods can be consumed fresh in every part of the world. A variety of methods can be used to preserve fruits and vegetables, allowing them to be consumed long after they are harvested. The oldest method of food preservation is drying. South Americans carried potatoes into the Andes Mountains, crushed them, and then left them on a rock overnight. The cold air and high altitude was considered the first freeze-drying technique.1 Canning and freezing are also common methods used to preserve foods and lengthen their shelf life beyond their season.
Fruits and vegetables are an abundant source of vitamins and minerals. However, some of their nutritive value can be lost during food preparation. Vitamins and minerals are sensitive to heat and water. Nutrition loss occurs in the cooking process and is accelerated with increased cooking time and high temperatures. To best preserve nutrients, choose cooking methods that minimize the cooking time, the cooking temperatures, and the amount of water used. Steaming and cooking in the microwave preserves nutrients because they use little water and the cooking time is short.
