Of course you can use pine needles, your veg will not taste of pine it will be great.
Your husband is pulling your leg. Pine needles are acidic so you will have to monitor your soil's pH and be ready to add some lime. Another thing to do is run through the needles with the lawn mower before spreading around your plants. It makes them easier to spread around the plants and makes for a little denser layer.
If your soil pH is 6.5 or above, they will be great. If not, you may want to correct the mulch by adding lime or wood ash, I am guessing two lb of wood ash per 100 sqft, if you have 2 inches of mulch. As others have pointed out, this mulch will work only for established plants, if you plant seeds in pine needles, even if properly composted, they will not sprout. Too young seedlings will have similar problems.
Not a good idea. Pine needles have a chemical (I forget the name) which retards growth. I learned this the hard way when I mulched my acid-loving blueberries with pine needles and wondered why they would not grow. Once I learned about the pine needles growth retarding properties I removed the mulch and replaced it with compost. Nice healthy blueberry bushes now.
JMHO
John
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