If you are starting an edible garden from scratch you are going to want to perform a soil Ph test anyway to determine if the levels are correct for the types of plants that you are planning to grow. You should contact your local cooperative extension and see what they offer - the test kits are usually cheap or even free - and they will let you know what other tests they offer if you live in an urban setting and have concerns. The biggest issue in soils found in an urban area are lead, arsenic and petroleum products - there are soil tests for all of these.
There is still hope for "toxic" soils - adding organic materials (compost and mulch - which is something you will have to do anyway) decreases the amount of lead picked up by the plants since it attaches to the organic materials instead. You can plant “cleaning” plants in bad soil, like leafy greens and ferns, that will absorb large quantities of harmful chemicals. Discard these plants (don’t eat them or use them in your compost) as toxic waste. Or you can construct raised beds or just garden out of containers.
I’d love to know the source of the information regarding the people who died from eating homegrown foods - it’s a rather silly idea - like saying you got cancer from walking your dog or spending too much time standing next to a washing machine. Not saying that there isn’t some article out there saying that this is the case, sounds like something big growers would put out there to scare people.
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