To attain the Herbicide Free achievement, farms must have not used any herbicides in their past 12 months.
Herbicides are defined as a substance that is toxic to plants and are used to kill weeds. If you thought weeds are a specific type of plant you would be wrong. Weeds are naturally occurring plants that has no perceived value thus any plant can be considered a weed.
By killing these plants we are interrupting the lands natural ecology, which has been developing these relationships for 4 billion years. Hinewai Reserve in New Zealand is one example of "weeds" being used to grow an amazing native forest by just letting nature grow. Our best chance to improve these ecological balances is to observe what is trying to grow naturally and work with it, not spray against it. These herbicides are also sprayed onto the soil potentially killing the microorganisms below the plant as well.
By showcasing farms as Herbicide Free, customers can support farmers who are going herbicide free for environment and health reasons. Similarly, a sustainable farmer will work to reduce their use of herbicides and again find the balance in natures natural flora and fauna to produce food.
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