Why do we find vegetables that do not use chemical pesticides and fertilisers so tasty?

99.4% of farmers in Japan grow vegetables using conventional farming methods that use chemical pesticides and fertilisers to increase yields.

At i・farm, we do not use chemical pesticides or fertilizers, and we strive to produce delicious vegetables in the category of "specially cultivated agricultural products" by maximizing the life force of the plants.　Crops have a natural growth program that has been built into their DNA over many years in the unique climate of their birthplace.　It is essential that we work hard to ensure that these genes work well.

There are a number of external factors that have a significant impact on taste, such as the weather, but in the case of outdoor growing, the soil is the deciding factor.　Plants absorb ionised nutrients dissolved in water by osmotic pressure through their roots.　The most common nutrients are nitrogen, phosphate and potash, but many other trace elements are also required.　Amino acids, which are molecules in size and can be absorbed by the plant roots through osmosis, also have a major influence on the taste of the food.　It is important to maintain the environment around the roots, which is not visible from the top of the soil.

The use of chemical pesticides kills the micro-organisms that maintain the invisible environment underground.　The environment is then irreparably damaged and it becomes impossible to maintain the environment around the roots without the application of various chemical pesticides and fertilisers.　As we move towards higher yields per unit area, the consumer is left to pay the price.　Allergies and atopic dermatitis, which are called modern diseases, are the price to pay for the pursuit of quantity.　The current situation is that we are stuck in a vicious circle of mass production and mass consumption, and in order to achieve this, we are willing to turn a blind eye to minor inconveniences.

Compost, which is a non-chemical fertilizer, is the base for cultivating an environment where microorganisms can enrich the soil without chasing yield.　At i・farm,  we do not chase after quantity, but we make the best use of nature's power to produce our crops by using ripe compost made from vegetable matter (plant residues from the farm and fallen leaves from nearby mountains) and animal matter (chicken manure, cow manure, pig manure, goat manure, etc.).