to think fruit and veg has changed dramatically in the last 20 years

[sPJPPp]

Fruit and vegetables are totally different to how they were a few decades ago. Broccoli has no bitterness and is quite sweet, mangos used to be mostly stone and now they have a tiny thin stone. Everything is sweeter or is it just me? I remember apples growing up that were sour, now they are like sugar bombs.

Anyway aibu to be worried about this?

It depends where you shop doesn't it?

Some people are reporting that food has become sweeter, but others that it has become blander...[confused ] Time from picking to plate is the main reason for that.

Things can be transported faster and get from exotic location to plate in hours resulting in premium taste and nutrients. They can also be grown out of season and picked unripe and not eaten til weeks after picking resulting in starchy or bland produce with less nutrients.

Selective breeding and more choice of variety have a role to play too - but buy locally produced, low air mile, seasonal produce if you're worried, and it'll be no different to fruit and veg in "the good ol' days"

Just because a cafe owner said something doesn't make it true, or completely true - out of season, forced, high air mile, irradiated for long shelf life fruit and veg is probably lower in nutrition, but locally produced seasonal produce is not 3 times less nutritious than x number of years ago - why would it be?

Because of intensive farming, soil depletion and modification of seeds - the faster the grow the better the pay off but the less nutrients.

There are lots and lots of studies. Back in the 90s this was one of the reasons for allotments starting to become more popular!

Most fruit and veg seems less tasty than it used to. Unless you buy really expensive stuff or can grow it yourself or buy stuff that others have grown, it so often seems wishy washy and pointless tasting. Esp tomatoes, avocados and apples.

When I've been on holiday in Spain and France and when I visit my brother in Germany, stuff tastes more how it used to do here years ago, ie, of the thing it's supposed to taste of.

In Spain and France, they export the 'perfect' food to us which is picked sooner, kept cold, transported two or three times etc before it reaches a plate.

When we were last in Spain, we were sitting in a wee café when they got their delivery of peppers - big ugly gnarly things that were barely recognisable as peppers, DS certainly said 'what's that?' iirc. They were bloody lovely fried in olive oil and salt with a beer though!

I grew up in the 70s and don't remember tomatoes ever tasting of anything mind you...