We realize that stress causes us to be more susceptible to diseases and other ills, the same is true for plants. In many ways, organic gardening had gone the way of alternative medicines, being shunned by government researchers who in many cases simply are not gardeners, but chemists. Understanding a chemical reaction in a lab often doesn't take into account the complex soil system and its interaction with the plant. What's more, field tests are usually performed over a short period, during which chemical fertilizers can equal any organics. Where the comparisons fail is in the long term.
Organic gardening is sort of like eating.
Some left wing organic gardeners accuse bureaucrats of a conspiracy with fertilizer companies, such is nonsense. In reality, the chemical and fertilizers companies do fund research designed to test certain aspects of their products. For the most part, organic fertilizer companies have not spent the money on such testing, and don't have stacks of slick publications at every garden center. Finally, with less organic materials being allowed in landfills, researchers are beginning to look at uses for organic products. As with all recycling, ideas are no different, as we return to some of the common sense ideas of past generations, before the advent of chemical fertilizers.