@ gravage,
I spent many years staking out farms as a Soil Engineer. Even Organic farms of any real size require pesticides. It is a huge debate.
A recent study compared the effectiveness of a rotenone-pyrethrin mixture versus a synthetic pesticide, imidan. Rotenone and pyrethrin are two common organic pesticides; imidan is considered a "soft" synthetic pesticide (i.e., designed to have a brief lifetime after application, and other traits that minimize unwanted effects). It was found that up to 7 applications of the rotenone- pyrethrin mixture were required to obtain the level of protection provided by 2 applications of imidan.
It seems unlikely that 7 applications of rotenone and pyrethrin are really better for the environment than 2 applications of imidan, especially when rotenone is extremely toxic to fish and other aquatic life.
It should be noted, however, that we don't know for certain which system is more harmful. This is because we do not look at organic pesticides the same way that we look at conventional pesticides. We don't know how long these organic pesticides persist in the environment, or the full extent of their effects.
When you look at lists of pesticides allowed in organic agriculture, you find warnings such as, "Use with caution. The toxicological effects of [organic pesticide X] are largely unknown," or "Its persistence in the soil is unknown." Again, researchers haven't bothered to study the effects of organic pesticides because it is assumed that "natural" chemicals are automatically safe.
If you are growing vegetables in your backyard, or a neighbor is growing them for you, then it is more likely you can keep a close watch on your weed and insect problems and avoid pesticide use.
I have a friend that won 12 million dollars in the lottery and now raises his own cattle and chickens for his family and grows their vegetables. His animals were corn fed top quality, and his field were full of diverse vegetables. I remember even he had to spray his crops and was upset the first time he had to. He also used conventional pesticides as although there may be plenty of organic alternatives none were offered for a farm his size in his location. He might have been convinced by a salesman however, as he always was an easy sell.
I know the idea of working a farm sounds insane with a lotto win like that, but that's what he wanted. He did marry a professional cheerleader though who also was content with farm life. If it were me, I'd have all the animals named and sleeping in the house and could never send one to slaughter.
The main thing is to be sure to wash all your fruits and vegetables like I said in my last post.
Any crop facing weeds, insects, and wildlife is not going to output much, and unless you want to spend everyday weeding manually you likely would get buried in them, with the problems mounting every year.
I know vegetables are healthy, but if you look at what gets put on them it seems less healthy. I like peas and corn because they are somewhat sheltered from chemical sprays. Obviously anything you peel is also likely healthier in my opinion (unsure how it compares to simply washing)
NOTE: Chemical content above background will cause an increase in chemicals throughout the vegetable. This means a newer farm would have safer vegetables than an older farm. Obviously this is not true if the farms replace their soil or add fertilizer and loam mixtures, and also the amount of rainfall in the region would have an effect.
NOTE: I wonder if it would be possible to invent a plant that LOVED ground chemicals and had an extensive root that sucked them out of the ground. You could then plant such a vegetable every so many years to clean your soil and ship your contaminated produce off to a designated landfill.
Plus the vegetables are all genetically engineered now. I know we are talking about organic stuff, but yikes. Maybe we should just forget about vegetables.