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🌱 Why “Iron-Rich” Plants Aren’t What They Used to Be
You’re eating the right foods—but getting less from them.
Isabelle Feldhaus
May 20, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
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Iron-rich foods aren’t as iron-rich as they used to be.
Overfarming and synthetic fertilizers have stripped soil of key minerals over the past century. That means your spinach, kale, and lentils could contain significantly less iron than they did even 50 years ago.
If you’re trying to get more iron through your diet, how your food is grown matters.
I used to think I just didn’t like tomatoes.
Growing up in the US, they always tasted bland and watery. I avoided them for years, assuming they just weren’t for me.
Then I moved to France.
My now mother-in-law often makes a simple tomato salad with just vinaigrette. The first time I tried it, I was blown away. The tomatoes were vibrant, flavorful, and honestly—kind of life-changing. Now, I count down the weeks until tomato season.
Most of the produce I eat in France tastes richer and more alive than what I was used to back home. (Even my mom, who recently retired and moved here to be near us, said the same thing—completely unprompted.)
At first, I chalked it up to local sourcing. I do most of my grocery shopping at the marché, the open-air market that’s a staple of French life. No matter where you are—in a quiet village or in Paris—you can find one any day of the week, often brimming with local food.
But it’s not just about where the food comes from. It’s about what it’s grown in.
The soil.
And what I’ve learned about how soil health affects the nutrients in our food—especially iron—continues to surprise me.
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How Industrialized Agriculture and Soil Depletion Reduced Iron in Food
Our food is only as nutritious as the soil it grows in.
Before industrialized farming, plants naturally absorbed high levels of minerals, including iron, from nutrient-rich soil. Modern farming methods have stripped soil of these nutrients.
🍎 An apple grown in 1975 may have contained approximately 40% more iron than an apple grown in 1997.
A study from the UK found that the amount of iron in some fruits and vegetables dropped by 24% and 27%, between 1940 and 1991. Spinach—often known as an iron-rich food—had one of the biggest drops, with up to 60% less iron than it used to have.
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Overuse of soil through monocropping (growing the same crops year after year) depletes its natural mineral content.
Synthetic fertilizers replace nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, but not iron or other trace minerals.
Pesticides and herbicides disrupt soil microbiomes, reducing nutrient absorption in plants.
As a result, fruits and vegetables today contain significantly less iron than they did 50-100 years ago.
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You don’t have to move to a farm or grow your own wheat. But small choices can reconnect you with nutrient-dense food grown in healthier soil.
Here’s where to start:
🌾 Choose organic produce when you can. These systems focus on soil health, crop rotation, and reduced chemical inputs.
🧑‍🌾 Support local farms or markets that use soil-enriching practices. Ask how they grow their food. You might be surprised by how much farmers love talking about soil.
🌱 Grow herbs or leafy greens at home. Microgreens grown in compost-rich soil or pots on your windowsill can be surprisingly rich in iron and other minerals.
Even one intentional swap can help you get more from your food and bring your meals closer to what our bodies need.
💬 Have you ever tasted a fruit or veggie that made you rethink everything you thought you knew about that food? (Bonus points if it was a tomato 🍅)
1 1997 was arguably a long time ago (28 years!), but this is the latest reliable data that I could find (đź« ). For the moment, we can only make educated predictions on whether this state of affairs has improved or worsened.
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