I have a friend who left the big city, bought a farm and is growing and raising her own food. As noted, there is no control over what’s in the air and rainwater, but she is very particular about her seeds and everything that she can control. That’s a serious lifestyle shift, and not one we are considering.
We buy as much of our foods as we can from local farms, many of whom have undergone the process of earning organic certification, which takes several years. We have toured a few of the farms and we chat with them, and it does make a difference looking the farmer in the eye. Because they’re not factory farming or breeding for shelf life, they don’t need as many hormones, antibiotics and pesticides. Because they are selling directly to the consumers, or to high-end restaurants (farm-to-table is very popular around here) they focus on flavor.
Start with your state’s website, where you will find the department of agriculture, from there you will likely find links for organic farms and local farm markets. Or just search the web for organic farms in your state. We participate in one local farm’s CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) where people buy ‘shares’ of the farm’s yield for the season. Right now we are sitting snacking on fresh figs and crumbled blue cheese, drizzled with local honey from our marketing today- so fresh and yummy!