Our story comes from anecdotal evidence in
Modern Farmer. Kuck runs a major urban farm called
Greensgrow. While he still runs the project he reported his concerns about his crops after his twins had high levels of lead in their blood which he asserts came from his project.
Cities such as Detroit have seen high levels of lead and other metals which lead to poisoning. With new technology we have seen these
levels drop. Lower
test scores are just one result of dangerous levels in many cities.
At their peak cities such as Detroit had
massive industrialization without many safeguards. Over time
air pollution sinks into soil and metals can also soak into
the water people pour on plants. Produce can still grow under these circumstances and it becomes part of the plant itself.
All forms of soil carry
this risk if they had higher levels of metal in the past. Interestingly some plants can clean
these metals out of the soil if they are maintained properly. Farmers of all types should test
their land if they think there is a risk of contamination.
