BI Variation Study 2018-2022
The mission of the Bionutrient Food Association is to increase quality in the food supply. Prior to our work categorizing nutrient variation within crops,it was generally assumed the nutritional label on a pack of carrots reflected the nutritional content of the carrots in that package.
Between 2018 and 2020, growers, researchers, and citizen scientists partnered with the Bionutrient Institute by submitting crop and soil samples along with information about management practices, point of purchase, crop varieties, and sensory evaluations. Their collective contributions enabled one of the largest investigations ever conducted into nutrient variation in food, creating a unique dataset that connects farming practices, soil conditions, crop genetics, and nutritional outcomes.
Prior to our work defining nutrient density, the term had been traditionally defined as the concentration of nutrients relative to calories. This definition is useful when comparing different types of foods. For example, kale generally contains more vitamins and minerals per calorie than potatoes and would therefore be considered more nutrient-dense. However, this conventional definition assumes that all kale or all potatoes are nutritionally similar. The Bionutrient Institute's research challenges that assumption by examining the variation that exists within a single crop category. Rather than asking whether kale is more nutritious than rice, this work explores why one bunch of kale may be significantly more nutritious than another, or why two carrots grown in different soils or under different management systems can contain dramatically different levels of nutrients.
Our results revealed substantial variation sometimes exceeding 200:1-in antioxidants, polyphenols, and mineral concentrations among crop samples. These findings suggested that the nutritional quality of food is influenced by factors beyond crop type alone and raised important questions about the roles of soil health, variety selection, environmental conditions, and farm management practices.
Click the button below to see results from the study
The charts on this page present results for a specific nutrient, phytochemical, or management variable drawn from this research effort. Together, they illustrate the remarkable variability that exists within our food system and support a growing understanding of nutrient density as a dynamic characteristic influenced by genetics, environment, soil conditions, and management practices.
Additional project details, methodology, and the complete interactive dataset can be explored through the Bionutrient Institute's 2020 Data Report and Data Explorer Dashboard.