Organic foods are grown without any synthetic (man-made) pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, and without chemical fertilizers. Instead, farmers keep their crops and livestock healthy and manage bugs, weeds and other pests through natural products, alternative techniques (like hand weeding instead of spraying chemicals to manage weeds, for example), and by encouraging Mother Nature’s own pest control specialists (releasing ladybugs to control aphids, for example). Because organic farming works in tune with nature, it is good for the environment, promoting ecological balance, conserving biodiversity and protecting the air, soil and water.