The problem with taking that position is that a chemical is a chemical. Chlorine is a natural, organic compound that if used as a pesticide will do significant ecological harm. Farmers in multiple nations used to do this, but we banned such use 20 years ago.
The idea that “naturally-occuring checmicals” are better than “man-made chemicals” is a poor (and incorrect) substitute for what IMHO people are really trying to say - “Untested engineered compounds are more dangerous than well-known simpler ones”.
The problem is, that’s not what “organic certification” requires, and the study I liked to above illustrates the case - “organic” pesticides used by certified organic farmers are often as bad if not worse for the environment, and at the same time, lure people into a false sense of security by causing people to assume they are “safer”.
IMHO, The enemy to ecology is large-scale agribusiness spraying chemicals (certified or not) across wide swaths of land. not your local farmer using pest-control techniques that have worked on their farms, often for generations, without destroying the local environment surrounding it, just because it happens to be a chemical we humans devised instead of a chemical that already existed.
Me too, which is why I love the current prevalence of small-crop heirloom-seed-based veggies popping up everywhere!
