Nitrates are chemical fertilizers made of nitrogen compounds. They are used largely in industrial farming. In fact 53% of nitrates in our water is from soybean and corn farming alone, the other 47% is from the atmosphere, urban areas, natural, range land, and other crops. Nitrates are highly explosive, so other than use in crops, they are also used to make explosives!

One of the issues with nitrates is the affect it has on babies. The birth defect called "blue baby syndrome" is caused by a pregnant woman drinking water with high concentrations of nitrates. This causes a baby to be born with heart defects, which disable them for life.

Another issue is a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. This is an area of low oxygen water, about the size of Connecticut. This dead zone is caused by chemical fertilizers improving the growth of algeas that suck all the oxygen out of the water. This causes a huge area of low oxygen water, forcing fish and marine life of all kinds out of the area (this hurts fishermen and many coastal industries). Once these fish come back the things they eat that couldn't escape have died off which kills the other things.

Lastly nitrates also causes algeas to bloom on large scales. Algeas release toxins and deprive the water of oxygen.

The state standards are only put there for human safety. These standards are low enough to make sure that blue baby syndrome doesn't accrue, but have no standards as far as algea or marine life's safety.

Organic farming is simply farming by not using chemical fertilizers. It's usually more pricey and requires those around to buy locally.