I’m a HUGE advocate of organic food.
I’m also an advocate for supporting your local farmers. An even bigger advocate of the health benefits of raw milk.
It really wears on my nerves when I hear people make comments that organic food costs are higher than conventional food, or that organic food is nothing but a gimmick from people who don’t know any better.
In all honesty, the word “natural” is also a ridiculous and over-used marketing term by MOST food companies – food companies that don’t want to go organic, so they market their items as natural.
But those items STILL have GMO’s, refined sugar, and unnatural ingredients. So not only is that label deceptive, it’s confusing to most consumers who assume they are getting a bargain — so it drives profit.
But organic food is entirely different. It’s certified organic AND Non-GMO. It’s the best option.
Commodities are Cheap and Priorities are Out of Whack
True and True – you can justify your need for a brand new car … when you might not necessarily need one, and spend $50 – $60 going out to eat at Olive Garden. It’s all a matter of priorities. Right?
You can head to the grocery store and get a pack of Bacon for $2.48.
AND, while you are there, you can pick up a bag of Chips for $1.47.
Don’t forget… the cheap {processed} milk – $1.89 will get you a gallon here in Arizona, too. .. lets not forget the {pesticide soaked} strawberries for $.87 per lb – limit of 4! What a deal. One of the Dirty Dozen and yet people clamor for cheap strawberries.
These prices are pretty much the norm. … they are what the grocery store promotes as bargain buster deals on Facebook when they preview their ad. In fact, if you blog grocery deals and don’t “point them out” to people, they think you have lost your mind.
In fact, if you even so much tell someone you haven’t any intentions of picking up ANY of those deals, then you are just …. very strange.
Cheap is Not Better
That bacon for $2.48 is likely a product of CoConcentrated Animal Feeding operations (CAFO’s) — in other words, factory farms that have smushed animals together in cramped spaces. They have been given antibiotics and hormones to keep them healthy in conditions that they would have normally gotten sick in.
That milk? Is also likely from a CAFO – it’s trucked to the processing plant where it is heated to ultra high temps and zapped of ALL of its nutritional value. It loses ALL of its vitamins and good enzymes, the same ones your body needs to digest the milk and break it down. Ever wonder why so many are lactose intolerant? Sure, they re-add synthetic vitamins in, but those are not even remotely close to beneficial for your health.
Related post: Raw Milk Reality: Why it’s a Healing Food.
The chips that are $1.47 are the product of GMO corn — genetically engineered so that the plant is Roundup Ready (withstand the effects of Glyphosate herbicides)… Thanks to the recent agricultural advances, we are consuming more chemicals than ever before – and the family “farm” is becoming a thing of the past.
Organic Food DOES Cost More
It’s a fact – it does. But before you say it’s unattainable for your family, just understand that like anything else, there are ways to make it affordable. Joining a CSA is a good start – and read our tips HERE to help you do that.
So why IS Organic food higher in cost? Many reasons honestly – noted below. Is it worth the cost? Absolutely – believe it or not, it’s NOT normal for you and your family to be sick all the time.
Organic food strengthens your immune system. It’s a step in the right direction to continued better health. When paired with better self care, it will help your body become a powerhouse that cannot be messed with.
#1 – Labor Costs are Higher
Organic food doesn’t use chemicals and synthetic pesticides …. organic farmers have to hire more workers for hand weeding, cleanup of polluted water and more.
Organic farmers are basically substituting labor and intense management over the use of chemicals.
#2 -Fertilizer Costs are More
When you are buying NON Organic food (including produce), chemical fertilizers are popular because they are cheap – they are also easy to transport from point A to point B. But Organic farmers forego the chemical fertilizers for compost and animal manure – which isn’t quite as cheap to ship.
Therefore the cost is much higher… and is passed along down to you, the consumer.
#3 – Organic Food Grows at a Slower Rate
Conventional NON Organic food takes LESS time to produce, because they use chemicals and growth hormones.. but Organic farms and farmers (which are usually MUCH smaller in size), take an incredibly longer time to produce crops because they forego these grow hormones to achieve Organic crops.
#4 – Organic Certification
To acquire USDA Organic Certification, farmers and production facilities need to comply with specific requirements/standards. in some cases it requires them to modify their facilities to meet organic certification. Organic farms MUST pay an annual $400 to $2,000 per year for their Annual Inspection and Certification.
#5 ~ Organic Farmers Must Rotate Crops
Conventional NON Organic farmers are able to farm on every bit of land available – but Organic farmers must rotate crops to keep the soil healthy.. which prevents them from planting those same items in their fields that next season. Because that limits them so greatly, they are not able to grow those quantities that regular conventional farmers can.
#6 – Raising Livestock Costs More
When you talk about Organic meat, it’s considerably MORE than conventional – head to Costco and pay $5.99 lb for Boneless Skinless Chicken, and $21.49 for 4 lbs of Organic Ground Beef.
The reason that meat is so much higher is because the livestock have greater living conditions – and Organic feed is quite a large cost more (actually double the price) of regular conventional feed.
Sure, you might find chicken or beef without hormones, but what are they being FED – that’s the million dollar question. Conventional feed is cheap — because it’s cheap, farmers (not all) lean towards that versus healthier feed (NON-GMO).
Related post: Read more about Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO’s).
You can also equate that to the food in our grocery store: processed food is cheap, but then may not be the BEST option for your family.
#7 – Organic takes more Time to Grow
This applies to animals as well as crops. Conventional farmers use chemicals and growth hormones to spurt growth in their animals and plants – and although you may find hormone “free” chicken, it does not mean chickens don’t receive antibiotics. Millions of chickens are grown to slaughter each year in the U.S. in as little as 42 days (when their normal lifespan is 14-15 years…) – think about that next time you see cheap chicken advertised in your grocery store.
Organic [Chicken] in the U.S. means that the chicken had to have been fed a vegetarian diet that doesn’t include GM ingredients or toxic pesticides – nor can they be administered antibiotics.
In terms of plants/crops, organic farms take longer time to produce crops because they don’t use chemicals or growth hormones.
#8 – Government Subsidies are LESS
Billions of dollars in tax dollars subsidize the junk [processed] food industry – more than $7 BILLION each year. – the government subsidizes corn and soybeans more than anything else (while 80+ % of those are GM). Organic and local foods only received $15 Million – unbelievable difference.
Don’t believe me? When is the last time you looked at the coupons in the Sunday paper? That pretty much says it all.
#9 – It’s Costly to Ship and Sell
Since Organic farmers don’t use synthetic fertilizers to speed growth, organic foods take MUCH longer to make it to the market. Even more, farmers have to transport them in smaller batches to avoid contamination from conventional.
Because they can take longer to ship and because they can’t sit AS long, some items MAY spoil faster – so organic farmers incur EXTRA costs so they can produce better foods. They absorb some of those extra costs but some are passed down to you, too.
#10 – More Demand than there is Supply
Although we tend to get tunnel vision in the area of grocery shopping. retail sales of organic food has been rising over the last few years – the demand is GREATER than the supply.
Organic farmland is not as common as conventional in the U.S. – Organic farmland accounts for a MERE 0.9 in the entire world (it might be more now in 2016 but I haven’t seen any figures yet – and I do a LOT of reading!)
Organic farmers typically produce less than conventional, which drives up the cost OF organic food.
Remember the Unseen Cost of Non-Organic Foods
Conventionally grown food is a huge risk ~ not just to your health but also to the environment. Instead of finding ways to say that Organic is a waste, look at it as preventive medicine: by eating better now, you can alleviate the issues you may have later.
Even more… look at your organic purchases as a way to contribute to a better food system– the more you support organic, and local farmers, the greater the chance of seeing a shift in our food system.
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