Why is organic food more expensive?
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M$3 Answers
- If it were cheaper to produce food organically, farmers would have been doing that all along.
- Using chemicals etc increases the yield from a given amount of land
- Some aspects of organic farming may be more labor intensive
So in general you produce more food from less land with less effort if not organic.
If you want an example, not strictly about organic, imagine free range chickens versus battery hens. The free range ones take more space and more work to raise.
Another aspect may be the "price sensitivity" of customers. People who buy organic are usually better off and prepared to pay more, so sellers charge what people are prepared to pay.
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M$
The one thing to offset fertilizers is to use compost, but that is labor intensive to spread over large areas. The best thing to do is to do what they already do with manure. Put it into the ground before they plant. That would mean tons of compost, that one family cannot produce quickly enough to spread over large areas time and again. We need lots of compost. I wish I wish I wish, there was a way to get compost from businesses. That would be beneficial on so many levels. Less land fill room needed, more composting, and recycling and reusing of products we'll throw out anyways!
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M$
1. Organic farming does not receive any subsidies unlike agrochemical agriculture.
2. Agrochemicals are designed to make food cheaper to produce and were not developed with nutrition, taste or ecology in mind. So the produce are usually cheap but inferior products. The organic product like an organic apple will generally costs more compared to an intesively-farmed food. But the organic apple will be more appetizing, juicier and more tasty. It is also packed with more vitamins, mineral, enzymens and trace nutrients and free of chemicals, waxes, and insecticides.
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M$
And there lies the genuine rub -- any serious move to disrupt "traditional" agriculture in favour of non pesticide-based production would literally kill millions of people. I guess that could be considered good management of the planet, but I still cannot agree with it.
A few links that might interest you.
Before people begin to glamourize the supposed benefits of organically grown products they really need to research why the agriculture of the world operates the way it does.
Don't misunderstand me, I am very much in favor of developing more eco-friendly methods of agriculture, but I am a realist and understand the needs of an over crowded and hungry world.
Its all well and good for urban dwellers to theorise how their food should be grown as they sip a cup of their favorite starbucks beverage.
The reality is however, if those urban dwellers had to produce their food, and i'm not talking about a postage size seasonal garden, the overpopulation problem of this planet would right itself post haste.
http://www.croplife.org/public/benefits_of_pesticides
http://www.perc.org/articles/article307.php
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2006/12/against_organic.html
Another part of it is that organic limits the types of pesticides one can use, so there is more loss to pests.
@philipy
Your answer pretty much nails it on the head.
Organically grown is much more labor intensive on the large scale.
As a farmer there's no way I can produce, lets say 100 acres of corn, organically without a major retooling and increase in labor.
As much as I would prefer to grow that 100 acres organically the reality of it is I would be out of buisness if I tried.
Now multiple that 100 acres by 10, which is about how much corn I grow per year, add all the other row cropping plus beef that I produce and translate it into organically produced and I am out of buisness.
Thats not to say that I am not constantly looking for methods to lessen dependence upon chemical fertilizers, pesticides, etc.
But its not realistic on a massive scale to be 100% organic at this time.
Many people who purchase what is advertized as organically grown thinking they are getting a superior product should actually trace that product back to its origin before patting themselves on the back thinking they are getting what they believe is a superior product.
If its not certified organic then most likely its not.
Just because its certified organic doesn't garantee it either.
There is really only 1 way of knowing without doubt and that is to have 100% control and oversite on the entire cycle of the product.