1. 40 percent lower than they used to be: Donald R. Davis, “Declining Fruit and Vegetable Nutrient Composition: What Is the Evidence?” HortScience 44 (2009): 15–19.
2. chose sixty-six varieties: Denise Tieman et al., “The Chemical Interactions Underlying Tomato Flavour Preferences,” Current Biology 22 (2012): 1035–1039.
3. twice as sweet: Linda M. Bartoshuk and Harry J. Klee, “Better Fruits and Vegetables through Sensory Analysis,” Current Biology 23 (2013): R374–R378.
4. to essential human nutrients: Stephen A. Goff and Harry J. Klee, “Plant Volatile Compounds: Sensory Cues for Health and Nutritional Value?” Science 311 (2006): 815–819.
5. tested what made for a tasty tomato: Tieman et al., “Tomato Flavour Preferences.”
6. looked at the volatiles in strawberries: Michael L. Schwieterman et al., “Strawberry Flavour: Diverse Chemical Compositions, a Seasonal Influence, and Effects on Sensory Perception,” PLoS One 9 (2014): e88446, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0088446.
7. a single gene variant: Alan H. Chambers et al., “Identification of a Strawberry Flavour Gene Candidate Using an Integrated Genetic-Genomic-Analytical Chemistry Approach,” BMC Genomics 15 (2014): 217, doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-217.
8. description that emerges: Wendy V. Parr et al., “Perceived Minerality in Sauvignon Wines: Influence of Culture and Perception Mode,” Food Quality and Preference 41 (2015): 121–132.
9. ten times as much thiol: W. V. Parr et al., “Association of Selected Viniviticultural Factors with Sensory and Chemical Characteristics of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Wines,” Food Research International 53 (2013): 464–475.
10. trucking the grapes: Dimitra L. Capone and David W. Jeffery, “Effects of Transporting and Processing Sauvignon Blanc Grapes on 3-Mercaptohexan-1-ol Precursor Concentrations,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 59 (2011): 4659–4667.
11. unique microbial ecosystem: Nicholas A. Bokulich et al., “Microbial Biogeography of Wine Grapes Is Conditioned by Cultivar, Vintage, and Climate,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111 (2014): E139–E148, doi:10.1073/pnas.1317377110.
12. detectably different aroma profile: Sarah Knight et al., “Regional Microbial Signatures Positively Correlate with Differential Wine Phenotypes: Evidence for a Microbial Aspect to Terroir,” Scientific Reports 5 (2015): 14233, doi:10.1038/srep14233.
13. some store better than others: Luke Bell et al., “Use of TD-GC-TOF-MS to Assess Volatile Composition during Post-Harvest Storage in Seven Accessions of Rocket Salad (Eruca sativa),” Food Chemistry 194 (2016): 626–636.
14. vanished after a week: Fernando Vallejo, Francisco Tomás-Barberán, and Cristina García-Viguera, “Health-Promoting Compounds in Broccoli as Influenced by Refrigerated Transport and Retail Sale Period,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 51 (2003): 3029–3034.
15. haven’t reached consensus: See, for example, Marcin Baranski et al., “Higher Antioxidant and Lower Cadmium Concentrations and Lower Incidence of Pesticide Residues in Organically Grown Crops: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analyses,” British Journal of Nutrition 112 (2014): 794–811; Diane Bourn and John Prescott, “A Comparison of the Nutritional Value, Sensory Qualities, and Food Safety of Organically and Conventionally Produced Foods,” Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 42 (2002): 1–34; Alan D. Dangour et al., “Nutritional Quality of Organic Foods: A Systematic Review,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 90 (2009): 680–685; Crystal Smith-Spangler et al., “Are Organic Foods Safer or Healthier Than Conventional Alternatives? A Systematic Review,” Annals of Internal Medicine 157 (2012): 348–366.
16. local might not mean fresher: I owe this idea to Alyson Mitchell of the University of California, Davis.
17. didn’t matter one bit: Xin Zhao et al., “Consumer Sensory Analysis of Organically and Conventionally Grown Vegetables,” Journal of Food Science 72 (2007): S87–S91.
18. thought the eco-friendly coffee: Patrik Sörqvist et al., “Who Needs Cream and Sugar When There Is Eco-Labeling? Taste and Willingness to Pay for ‘Eco-Friendly’ Coffee,” PLoS One 8 (2013): e80719, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080719.
19. says one tomato grower: Quoted in Dan Charles, “How the Taste of Tomatoes Went Bad (and Kept on Going),” NPR All Things Considered, June 28, 2012, accessed March 1, 2016, http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/06/28/155917345/how-the-taste-of-tomatoes-went-bad-and-kept-on-going.
20. 20 percent less sugar: Ann L. T. Powell et al., “Uniform ripening Encodes a Golden 2-like Transcription Factor Regulating Tomato Fruit Chloroplast Development,” Science 336 (2012): 1711–1715.