> How are these different from the vegetables produced by traditional farming? Oh, they are very different. As with most modern systems, and noted above, food

> How are these different from the vegetables produced by traditional farming? Oh, they are very different. As with most modern systems, and noted above, food grown on industrial scales are not optimised for the traditional qualities of nutrition or taste. This is capitalism: they are optimised for speed of growth, bulk, shelf-life, and whether they tolerate pesticides and herbicides. The latter is not only to reduce "weeds", but also so they can kill all the plants and harvest the product, rather than let the plant naturally die. They are also grown with enormous fossil-fuel inputs. Find someone who grows heritage vegetables, preferably organic, and taste the difference. Most "farms" these days are simply titanic open-air factories.