organic or crap or the real thing?

Question

in the 50s we went to the shop and bought food,in the 70s we bought food with a few additives,in the 80s we bought food with lots of additives,in the nineties,we started to buy organic,full circle,so how come it costs more for a product without the extras,back to basics at a cost

Answer 1

It's a big con - grow your own!

Answer 2

Supply and demand, baby!

Organics are not a mainstream item making them a "specialty item" therefore making it possible for the producers to charge more for what, in fact, costs less to produce. There is a small arguement for the fact that since they do not use chemicals to stave off pests, causing a lesser yield than they would have if they used pesticides, they still don't incur the cost of the pesticides...so...does it cost more? No. Packaging doesn't cost more...shipping doesn't cost more...hmmmm...
It's no different than any other comodity. Gas, for instance. There is no ligitimate reason for the price of gas to be any higher than it has been 2-3 years ago. The war, the hurricanes,etc are supposedly excuses for the higher prices of oil...Does anyone remember the Alaskan Pipeline? If I'm not mistaken that is for US oil production (not affected by hurricanes, wars, etc...). Ever notice how there is always an excuse for the price of fluid dairy products like butter, milk, etc. during the holidays when the companies that produce those products know we will buy them regardless of the cost. Maybe they are just taking advantage of us because they can or because we let them...Can you imagine trying to get everyone to boycott butter over the Holidays? Gas at any time? They have us where we want us...over the oil barrel (or butter churn, or bushel basket)...and they love it!

*sigh* Oh, well...if you eat salad less often because of the cost...you'll appreciate it more, eh?

Answer 3

Organic food costs more because without the fertlisers, pesticides and herbicides that conventional farming uses, the yields (the tonnes per hectare) are much lower. And the less carrots, for example, that the farmer gets per hectare, the more he has to charge for them. Also, whilst organic farmers have lower bills for chemicals, they have higher fuel costs - the weeds still need to be removed from the fields, and without herbicides they are mechanically removed by tractors dragging specialist equipment. This in turn also means the crop spacings are wider, again reducing yields.

And finally, there is an premium attached to organic foods simply because people are prepared to pay a premium for it. This is simple economics, in that producers will charge what they can persuade people to pay. Think of French Connection and Primark clothes, for instance. They're both made in factories in the Far East at little cost, but people are prepared to pay considerably more for the former.

Answer 4

All of the commercial farms are huge. Organic farms are small independently owned farms. There are guidelines you have to follow to label your food organic, it is not bs. Once these larger farms see that americans are willing to pay the cost for responsible foods, and farming, perhaps they will join the organic wave, and costs will go down. You have to keep in mind that in the 50s, the population was much smaller, they weren't concerned with conservation, or pesticides (several they used to use are now illegal on account of causing cancer). Today, our methods have improved, as well as our science and knowledge. It costs money to be responsible. Go to a mass farm sometime and check it out, how waste is handles, food is handled, etc...You'll be eating organic in no time!

Answer 5

the explanation is simple. the larger is the quantity of a former organic product that you want to manufacter, the more additives you put in that stuff to obtain a greater volume at a lower cost (and price). for instance, read what's written on a bottle of fanta. it contains like 4-5 percent orange juice and the rest are additives. but the price is quite low and the sales are booming. natural orange juice, on the other hand, which contains only oranges and sugar, is more expensive because, using the same quantity of raw material (oranges, in this case), you get a much smaller volume of the product and you just have to sell it at a higher price to earn back your money.
in my opinion, that's all there is to it.

Answer 6

Labor costs are higher for Organic produce. That is probably the biggest cost difference between mass-commerical operations and organic producers.

The other biggest difference is that with organic, less product is produced that is marketable. Without chemicals, more crops are lost to natual insects, diseases, death, etc and so the remaining crops have higher cost and thus higher price.

Answer 7

Less organic food is produced per unit area and tends to be more labour intensive, also it is something of a premium product whereas the cutthroat competition in the mass produced market keeps prices low.

Answer 8

Actually all food is ORGANIC duh. Its just bs marketing, also they talk about no pesticides, if that were the case then you wouldnt even see the food in the stores! Also many of the foods we eat today have been genetically altered yet they dont let you know!

Answer 9

because they have to use natural fertilizers like compost and buy more land for animals to graze than the other people because they give their animals feed with hormones in it to help them grow. this is not the best answer you could get sorry.

Answer 10

because it's all a load of cobblers.