food rules: why organic is expensive

"You're charging me four dollars for lettuce that you didn't even DO anything to? It sat in the sun for a few months. You picked it, put it in a truck & now I pay FOUR DOLLARS?!"

I know. I've had those thoughts, too. I get made that all-natural shampoo is more than twice the price of the others that smell equally pleasant. I know it seems contrary to do less to a product & charge more for it... but it turns out organic isn't "hands off" farming. The absence of chemicals & genetic modification (mostly the case with organics, but not always) means the farmer has less of an output in supplies, but he has a much harder time getting the produce to market.

Obtaining organic status is an arduous process, which you can start here or read more about here. Part of the process is annual investigations & testing. Not only does farmers have to use organic farming methods–relying only on nature & the heartiness of plants–but they must make sure the soil remains uncontaminated by chemicals. Do their neighbors have chemicals sprayed? Do the chemicals drift on the wind? Unlike most farmers, it's more than their crops they're forced to worry about.

So let's break it down, according to the USDA's requirements:
1. Products labeled "organic" have at least 95 percent of their ingredients coming from organic farms; the remainder must be from the approved (& vaguely titled) National List of other things. The USDA explains that "organic products cannot be produced using excluded methods, sewage sludge, or ionizing radiation." This makes me wonder about other products...

2. If processed foods say "Made with Organic Ingredients," you're looking at ingredients that are at least 70 percent organic. If they have less than 70 percent organics, they can't list the product as organic in on the "principal display," meaning it won't say Organic Soup but the ingredients will list organic carrots.

3. The USDA has no restrictions on "truthful labeling claims" like “no drugs or growth hormones used,” “free range,” or “sustainably harvested.”

Looking past the extra care this takes, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations gives us a great list of reasons for higher prices of organic foods:

1. Organic food supply is limited as compared to demand.
2. Production costs for organic foods are typically higher because of greater labour inputs per unit of output and because greater diversity of enterprises means economies of scale cannot be achieved.
3. Post-harvest handling of relatively small quantities of organic foods results in higher costs because of the mandatory segregation of organic and conventional produce, especially for processing and transportation.
4. Marketing and the distribution chain for organic products is relatively inefficient and costs are higher because of relatively small volumes.

This doesn't make us feel any better about buying that organic label or increase our grocery budget, but it does put the work that goes into organic food in a little better context. If you want "organic" but can't afford it, don't feel discouraged! There are loads of unofficial, uncertified organic options. Many of them can be found in co-ops or farmers' markets. Do you grow your own food? Do your neighbors have a garden?

And don't forget–I mentioned in Monday's post that some produce is less necessary to buy as organic (those foods you can peel, where the pesticides can't get to the flesh inside) while others should be your first-priority organics (things like berries, where there is virtually no difference between skin and flesh).

How do you feel about organics? Are there products you always/never buy in the organic section? What got you buying them?

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