Jack Algiere has no qualms about letting his kids eat their
veggies straight out of the ground from the fields and
greenhouses he manages in Pocantico Hills, N.Y. He knows the
rich, organic soil will provide Sedge and Ojiah with delicious,
nutrient-rich food. Not to mention a possible boost to their
immune systems. His sons have their favorites. “Carrots are up
there and consumed after a brush with the shirt sleeve. But
spinach in winter seems to be the prize,” said Algiere, the farm
manager at Stone Barns Center For Food and Agriculture. “With
most greens, they prefer to graze — no hands — rather than
pick.” Perhaps most importantly, Algiere knows that toxic
fertilizers and pesticides will not have touched the carrots or
spinach, and therefore can’t pose any risks to his sons’ health.
“Thanks to our improved understanding of the dynamics of soil,
the luster of chemical agriculture has worn off,” Algiere said.
He once worked farmland the conventional way, but said he has
since learned that nature really does