Is organic food worth the additional cost? An expert weighs in on whether the premium placed on organic products pays off in nutrition and better health.
Organic food is preferred by more and more consumers, and corporations took note of the trend by selling organic versions of their usual produce. It's been established that organic food costs more to produce than their non-organic and genetically modified counterparts, but the latest report on pricing trends hint that consumers pay steep prices just to enjoy the organic alternative.
The Cost Of Choosing Organic
A Huffington Post report compared prices between organic and non-organic varieties of produce, showing a significant difference in some varieties. Organic spinach, for example, is priced 7% more than the conventional alternative, but dairy products like yogurt, milk and eggs come with steep mark up of up to 82%.
Organic food is often produced with traditional farming methods. These are labor-intensive, with regular segregation of seeds and crops to achieve the best yields. While these practices are beyond question, do consumers reap any benefit from choosing organic over conventional food?
A Rainbow Of Organic Varieties
Chensheng Lu, a biology professor at Harvard University, qualifies organic food as friendlier to the planet, posing minimal harm to human health. The term organic is slapped on products in various ways, though.
According to the USDA, organic produce must be grown free from synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and without using genetically modified organisms. Labels tell a different story, where products made exclusively from organic ingredients are labeled 100% organic. An 'organic' label means the product is 95% legitimate and one that indicates 'made with organic ingredients' means the product is at the very least 70% legitimate.
A Fortune article reports on Monsanto as the biggest supplier of GMO products. Monsanto's corn seeds are exclusively used in many US farms, its corn present in different forms on most supermarket produce.
Mass-production of produce has effectively reduced market prices, but not without opposition from producers and retailers. The increasing gap between the price of organic and conventional food puts more strain on consumers who want organics but are unable to pay for the privilege.
