"Personally, I distrust everything that comes from NGIN"  Alex Avery, Hudson Institute, 18 Jan 2001

 Surely, only Alex (or his dad!) could come up with a conclusion like this: "A major U.S. shift to organic agriculture would mean more pesticide use, not less; more toxicity, not less; and higher pressures on agricultural and other natural resources without any apparent  offsetting benefits."
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"NATURE'S TOXIC TOOLS: THE ORGANIC MYTH OF PESTICIDE-FREE FARMING"
February 9, 2001
Hudson Institute
Alex Avery
http://www.cgfi.org/pdf/Nature%27s%5FToxic%5FTools%2Epdf

Introduction and conclusions below: Organic pesticides are the most  heavily used agricultural pesticides in the U.S., according to the most recent  data on U.S. pesticide use. Data from the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy in Washington, DC show that two pesticides approved  for use on organic crops are the most heavily used pesticides in the United States.1 Oil, an organic insecticide, was the single most used pesticide  in the United States in 1997, with farmers using 102 million pounds on 22 different crops that range from almonds and walnuts to cotton and strawberries. Sulfur, an organic fungicide, was the second most used pesticide on U.S. farms in 1997; growers used 78 million pounds of sulfur on 49 different crops, ranging from alfalfa and avocados to mint and watermelons. In fact, these two organic-approved pesticides alone  accounted for over 23% of all U.S. agricultural pesticide use in 1997, with oil accounting for 56% of all insecticides and sulfur accounting for 59% of  all fungicides. (See Figure 2) 1 National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, National Pesticide Use Database, http://www.ncfap.org/ncfap/index.html (2001). Conclusion A major U.S. shift to organic agriculture would mean more pesticide use, not less; more toxicity, not less; and higher pressures on agricultural and other natural resources without any apparent offsetting benefits.