USDA Organic farmers (and many small, local organic farms working without certification), must use different standards when growing vegetables. These standards include never using:

• Pesticides

• Synthetic Fertilizers

• Sewage sludge

• Genetically modified organisms

• Ionizing radiation

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 60 percent of herbicides, 90 percent of fungicides, and 30 percent of insecticides to be carcinogenic, and most are damaging to your nervous system as well. In fact, these powerful and dangerous chemicals have been linked to numerous health problems such as:

• Neurotoxicity

• Disruption of your endocrine system

• Carcinogenicity

• Immune system suppression

• Male infertility and reduced reproductive function

• Miscarriages

• Parkinson’s disease

This information alone should give you pause when considering whether to buy local, organic vegetables or not. But I encourage you to do further research about organic versus conventional farming conditions. We believe that after researching the facts and statistics, you’ll come to the conclusion that organic vegetables are far more nutritious than conventionally farmed vegetables.