While that may seem obvious to some, it is far from obvious to everyone. There are quite a few people out there who think synthetic, chemical pesticides are a bad thing and should be discontinued, more or less.

Take, for example, the reaction of Pesticide Action Network (PAN) of North America to the paper, called The Contributions of Pesticides to Pest Management in Meeting the Global Need for Food Production by 2050.

"My recollection is that this organization is tied to corporations: For example, several of their board officers have or currently work for pesticide and genetically engineered seed corporations; so it’s no surprise that they would advocate the continued use of hazardous pesticides," said Paul Towers, a PAN spokesman.

Later, PAN Senior Scientist Marcia Ishii-Eiteman described the paper as an "industry-authored report" that continues to perpetuate many of the same "tired myths around farming." She stated CropLife, one of the primary authors of the paper, is a lobby group for the world’s largest pesticide corporations and has a vested interest in marketing farmer’s greater chemical inputs and technologies that the companies patent. These include pesticides that work with genetically engineered seeds.

"The most comprehensive research to date shows that pesticides are not necessary to feed the world, and, in fact, do more harm than good to the health and livelihood of farmers and rural communities," she stated.

The research Ishii-Eiteman is referring to is a United Nations (U.N.) led body that views large-scale agriculture and food production in general as something to be avoided. From PAN’s perspective, it’s corporations that control the food supply chain all the way from farm to fork. Pesticides, made by large multi-national companies like Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences, and Bayer, are seen as a malevolent spoke in the wheel of capitalist control and oppression.

In a prepared analysis of the U.N. report – called International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development – PAN says technological advances in agriculture since 1945 have increased farm productivity, but hunger and malnutrition persist, including in the United States.

While PAN says the benefits of pesticides and other agricultural technology are short-term and benefit only a few, CAST authors say increases in productivity from pesticides are long-term and benefit everyone.

"What we wanted to do is talk about all these pest complexes and how to manage them," said Steve Weller, a professor of horticulture and landscape architecture at Purdue University and co-author of the CAST report. "The gist of it is that pesticides can be a very effective tool in managing pests, whether weeds, insects or whatever."

Weller said modern pesticides can increase crop yields 40 percent versus crops that aren’t treated with synthetic pesticides. "We made a big point of saying that pesticides need to be properly used in other countries, including proper training."

When asked about the efficacy of bioinsecticides, Weller said those tend to be species-specific, whereas chemical pesticides are broad spectrum, meaning they can kill more than just one species of pest. "Biologicals" also have to be tested to make sure they’re safe as well, he added.

"We do say we want to make sure the benefits outweigh the risks," Weller said. "We want to make sure they’re as safe as possible and that pesticides already on the market are safe and that they’re periodically reviewed for safety.

"We know that consumers in the United States and most parts of the world want fruits and vegetables that are pretty much blemish free."

The 22-page paper provides a brief history of pesticide use and then examines pesticides for different crops in more detail. Other report authors include Albert Culbreath, professor in the department of plant pathology, University of Georgia; Leonard Gianessi, Crop Protection Research Institute, CropLife Foundation; and Larry Godfrey, professor in the department of entomology and nematology, University of California, Davis. To get more information on the report or to view a copy, go to www.cast- science.org