And it entirely sidesteps issues such as how many disease-causing microorganisms can dance the Macarena on the head of a radish or whether taking a bite out of a conventionally grown apple will cause you to keel over like an animated cockroach in a Raid commercial. He correctly identifies the organic-produce industry as being, at its core, a sort of agricultural Luddite movement. Modern Luddites tend to be professional people who don't want to live in a thatched hut, but think others should be encouraged to do so. Thus, the appropriate question is not whether sustaining resources is desirable, but which purported sustainable techniques work. In agriculture, the intellectual position on sustainability is too often romantic and antitechnological.
All artificial pesticides are organic.
Plants absorb and use inorganic substances from animal manure and other organic matter exactly as they do the same inorganic substances that constitute artificial fertilizers. Although animal manure is generally considered better for soil structure, it may have a high content of salts, and it may harbor toxic chemicals, viruses, harmful bacteria, insects, worms or other pests. The environmental costs of cultivating more land for feed, converting more land to pasture and hauling several billion tons of manure would far exceed the environmental costs of manufacturing and transporting artificial fertilizer.