Science has created many wonderful things， but it has also developed something like “improved plants”. Take improved peas for example①. They will ripen all at once②， big and pleasing to the eye③， but may taste like boiled paper balls.
What we eat today is handsomely packaged， usually clean and pure， excellently preserved. The only trouble with it is this： year by year it gets less good to eat， either in nutrition or taste.
It has been proved that much of what we eat， particularly processed foods， is not good for the health， although it appeals increasingly to the eye. In recent years， more and more people have become aware of④ the need to change their eating habits. Consequently， there has been a growing interest in natural foods—foods which do not contain chemical additives and which have not been affected by chemical fertilizers， widely used in farming today.
Natural foods， for example， are vegetables， fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic matter. In simple terms， this means that the soil has been nourished not by chemicals， but by unused vegetable matter， which provides it with essential vitamins and minerals. Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed and move freely in healthy pastures. They taste better and are more nutritious than those kept crowded together in one building and fed on food which is little better than rubbish. In addition⑤， no matter what kind of foods they are， they should be eaten while fresh.
① take…for example以……为例
② all at once立刻；马上
③ pleasing to the eye悦目
④ become aware of发觉；开始意识到
⑤ in addition另外；此外
崇尚自然食物
科学创造出了许多美妙的东西，但也生产出诸如“改良植物”这样的食物。以改良豌豆为例：它能在极短的生长期内迅速成熟，又大又好看，但吃起来却像煮过的纸丸一样。
今天，我们吃的食物无不包装精美，洁净而无杂质，而且经过精心的防腐处理。其最大的问题在于这些食物无论在营养方面还是口感上都一年年地变得不那么宜于食用了。
业已证明，我们吃的食物虽然外观越来越好看，但其中大部分，特别是经过加工的食品，对健康不利。近年来，越来越多的人开始意识到需要改变他们的饮食习惯。因而，人们对天然食物的兴趣日益浓厚——天然食物不含化学添加剂，也不曾受到现今农耕中广泛使用的化学肥料的影响。
自然食物，举例来说，是指那些生长于富含有机物的土壤中的蔬菜、水果和谷物。简单地讲，是指生产这些农作物的土壤不是由化学物质滋养的，而是由未被利用过的植物体滋养的，这些植物体为土壤提供重要的维生素和矿物质。自然食物还包括饲养在健康牧场里能自由活动和自主觅食的动物。它们较之于圈养在拥挤的建筑物里，用比垃极好不了多少的食物喂养的动物味道更鲜美，营养更丰富。此外，不论是哪种食物，都应当趁新鲜食用。
