Why do Organic foods cost more that other foods?

Question

I like Organic foods but I don't like that Supermarkets like Safeway, Giant, Bloom, Weis and others charge twice as much and sometimes even more for the Organic foods than the foods that are filled with chemicals and perservatives. Why?
The companies that want people to buy Organic and yet they have the prices cost more discourages people especially the poor from buying them. So what is Organic food only for rich people? Because in the long run they're the only ones who can really afford it.

Answer 1

The actual reason they are higher, is simple really. They think they can get more for it, so they do.

They will tell you it is because the supply is less. they might say it's because the losses to the growers to pests and such are higher. Or that the shelf life is shorter. (that makes no sense, but they try to pitch it that way, if the shelf life is shorter, sell it for less and move it quicker.)

They will tell you it is more expensive to grow. That's total rubbish. it is LESS expensive to grow since the pesticides and preservatives are not being bought.

When we had our farm, when I was young, we did use some pesticides on certain things. If you didn't, you couldn't grow enough of it to even worry about taking it to market. we didn't on any crops that grew close to the ground, we simply used horse and cow manure plowed under in the winter for fertilizer, and planted garlic in amongst the other plants. Garlic keeps the insects away from other plants in the vicinity, and is a good cash crop in its own right.

what is more important than what is used on them when growing is how they are handled after. thoroughly washed fruits and veggies bore no remnants of any pesticides, we made sure of that. Of course, the pesticides we used were not harsh chemicals, but were derived from other plants themselves. Thus no harm to the ground either. Even if small amounts were ingested, they would not harm anyone. The amounts needed for a human to suffer any ill effects at all were so large you could eat the whole crop unwashed and not get enough. you'd have to eat the stuff right out of the bag to get that much.

So, to answer you question with one word? Greed.

Answer 2

Actually Safeway has their new brand called "O Organics" and you can find most O organics products on all isles of the store besides produce. Since it is a Safeway brand, a lot of the products are a lot cheaper compared to others and good for you to eat. But in the produce department a lot of organic things are more expensive except the strawberries. They are bogo right now (buy 1 get 1 free) at 3.99 until Wednesday, which is a better buy then regular strawberries which are 2 for $5. I work for Safeway is how I know.. and I actually work produce too sometimes.

Answer 3

There are several reasons. The first would be because farmers are not allowed (by the guidelines which allow you to state that something is "organic") to use chemical pesticides or herbicides, this means that whatever you plant will yield a lower number of crops than it would if you could just kill any parasite or predator with a pesticide, in other words, more say tomatoes or apples die before they are harvested. Also organic and sustainable farming is less widespread throughout the country, so it costs more to ship the goods from another state to our than it would if they were just grown in your own state. In the end, I really agree with you that sustainable development and living should be available to a larger and less wealthy population (its actually developing countries that would benefit from it the most!).... hope my answer helped.

Answer 4

processed food occurs on a massive scale, usually with super cheap ingredients because no one will know the difference. of course it includes super extra large humongous ginormous huge mountaineous big vats and machinery, but those processing plants make so much money from making the food, or whatever it is. organic food is on a small scale and is often does not use pesticides, but rather, manual means to get rid of bugs, weeds, etc. this smaller scale requires much more attention which costs more time and money, therefore the final product is a bit more expensive.

Answer 5

The reason organic food is so expensive is simply down to supply and demand.

Growing organic food requires marginally more expensive fertilisers (manure rather than cheap chemicals), which should only affect the price of the produce by a couple of pennies. However, the majority of people view organic food as something special, exclusive, and sought after - like something being organic is a LUXURY, rather than just being food as it SHOULD be. Therefore supermarkets jack up the prices.

Answer 6

everyone should buy he best quality they can afford because it is only yourself that will pay in the long run. Put the best fuel into your car into your car and it will run better for longer. do they same for your body. you will pay for it later in the way of bad health wihich you cannot replace.
Organic food needs more time , better growing conditions, soil testing and purification processes. Chemicals and preservatives keep the cost of providing food cheaper. You egt what you pay for. find a great local provider that is passionate about his/her produce, you will gain from their knowledge immensely and get a few bargains too!

Answer 7

Organic food is more expensive because it costs more to produce, there is often more lost product due to insects and the inability to use pesticides.

Answer 8

because the merchants are smart and know that people will always pay a premium for premium goods. that does kinda suck I know.. i love organic foods too. Do they have Whole Foods where you're at? based in Austin TX.

Answer 9

They take more care to raise...it is very time consuming to grow organic foods.

Answer 10

Because it is very difficult to grow food without using pesticides.