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That depends on the area and there are methods to mitigate that.

One group out in New Jersey that has a community garden in heavily polluted land uses clean straw bales as the grow medium. Those only last for two or three years. But you can grow stuff.

Regenerative and permaculture methods includes soil remediation techniques for rebuilding soil. For heavily polluted land, Dr John Todd has some remarkable methods that can remediate even places such as superfund sites, though that might not be something to DIY. Dr Todd also has a quick method for testing that doesn’t involve a lab; not comprehensive, but will get you the observation you need.

Finally, as you see from other articles including the current front page of HN — leafy veggies have been found to have tire additives. Micro plastics are found in rain amd in animals in the wild. Our planet has been so broadly polluted, and our industrial agriculture will not necessarily be safer. For those with an interest in stewardship, you have to start somewhere.

Do you have any links that support these statements? Surely, some areas are contaminated, but claiming that urban land is "likely poisoned" and passes it on seems suspicious.

https://theconversation.com/backyard-hens-eggs-contain-40-ti...

This claims it's not intolerable: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stop-freaking-out-...

Come to think of it, I've never had my chicken feed tested. Rather than test every sqaure meter of my backyard periodically and also have every bag of feed tested, it seems more practical to do constant sampling of the eggs. Can you recommend a lab for me? How can I get an FDA inspection of my tomato? Do you have any data on the failure rate of such inspections?

I'm not doubting you, but do you know of any concrete analyses of contamination in vegetables and eggs?

I recall one from Sydney which tested backyard eggs and found that basically all of them were terrible. I don't have it saved, however.

According to the government, home-produced eggs in the Netherlands are so contaminated from PFAS they are a potential health risk: https://english.nvwa.nl/documents/consumers/food/safety/docu...

Eggs from the supermarket don’t have the same problem

Aren't PFAS already everywhere, like microplastics?

Conclusion from your link:

"According to RIVM, the total PFAS intake of Dutch consumers is too high. This excessive exposure is therefore irrespective from eating home produced eggs."

Yes, but the previous paragraphs confirms that “The weekly PFAS intake through the consumption of home-produced eggs exceeds the health-based guidance value (i.e. the maximum safe intake). This means that the weekly PFAS intake due to the consumption of these eggs over a longer period of time can lead to health risks. Consumption of eggs from the supermarket (commercial eggs) does not lead to excessive PFAS intake and can therefore be eaten safely”.

This is the question that was being asked.

> That said, I'm completely opposed to urban food gardening (including chickens) because the land you're growing in is likely poisoned by years of urban pollution. Whatever you grow in those areas is going to bring that bad stuff along with it, which means your backyard tomatoes probably wouldn't pass FDA approval.

Very much this. Those who live in very rainy areas like the PNW know all too well about all the rain gardens and other suburban filtration needed to keep the water from turning disgusting from surface oil and particulates coming off roads, shingles, etc.

Not to mention the oil content of the dressing I pour onto my lettuce and tomato just before I eat.

Ok, bad joke. But I am reminded of the fellow who was cited for dumping his used motor oil along his fence line a week before the DOT did a chip and seal on the road next to the fence.

Sometimes, that pollution can be beneficial. I knew of someone that lived in an area where there was once a battery factory. Their tomatoes--grown in the ground--where simply amazing. It turns out, their soil is pretty acidic due to that battery factory.

You can accomplish the same thing by adding dog poop to your compost.

I tried adding cat waste to a compost pile (we used cat litter made of organic materials, not clay.) The result was horrific odor. I didn't do that again.

I'd be terrified of what else the battery company put in the ground.

Like gross amounts of lead.

why do you think the tomatoes taste so sweet? /s

Don’t forget chickens eat bugs that eat things dosed in pesticides

it's a leisure activity for yuppies.

the amount of land and effort required to grow meaningful amount of calories is far beyond anything you can do in a city. if you own a parcel anywhere near any city in the western hemisphere, just selling it outright would yield more money than all the produce you could grow in ten lifetimes.

I can’t buy good tomatoes in the grocery store, for any amount of money. I can grow them in my garden.