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Part III in the Sustainable Family Supper Project

The second villain in the duo of toxic commercial farming practices is fertilizer. I recently heard a radio ad touting the benefits of chemical fertilizer, euphemistically called, “nutrients for life.”

If you’ve read Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, you know that nitrogen fertilizers used today have a rather unsavory history. In a classic example of good intentions gone awry, scientists discovered a way to apply highly concentrated nutrients to crops to increase their yield. Sounds good, right? The problem is that the nutrients run off into streams, rivers and oceans and suffocate aquatic life. It sounds strange, but there is in fact such a thing as too much nutrients. Agricultural run-off from the Midwest is contributing to an ever-growing dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico – nearly the size of Massachusetts in 2008. Chemical fertilizers are also derived from petroleum, keeping much of the world’s food supply inextricably linked to fossil fuels.

Recent studies have shown that organic crops in fact have higher nutrient levels, and are higher in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. This has a great deal to do with the soil in which they are grown, and the fact that it hasn’t been smothered with heavy doses of chemicals. Sustainable farming also utilizes crop rotation practices that rotate planting so that different nutrients are absorbed and replaced each growing season. I mentioned last week that our CSA farm produces exceptionally sweet onions as a result of their attention to the soil. Leafy greens also benefit from well-tended, chemically-unburdened soil. Organically-grown, fresh greens from a local farm have far more flavor then the limp pre-bagged mixes found at the grocery store, so much so that when my husband tasted our first delivery of CSA greens he exclaimed, “Who knew lettuce had flavor?!”

As mentioned last week, the best way to find food grown without toxic fertilizers and other chemicals is to buy organic and support your local, sustainable farmers. Stay tuned for a look at several CSA farms from around the country, and this week’s sustainable supper recipe.