THE MYTH OF THE HIGH COST OF ORGANIC FOOD
Over and over I hear the refrains, “It’s too expensive”, “It’s overpriced”, “I can’t afford it”, when the subject of buying organic food surfaces.
‘Conventional’ food prices only represent a fraction of the true cost of producing and eating food. ‘Conventional’ food prices do not reflect the government subsidies given to ‘agri-businesses’ in the way of tax breaks nor the sums given to them to buy up their unwanted surpluses.
The costs of environmental damage and clean-up projects are not covered either. Pollutants used on ‘conventional’ crops leach into the water system through pesticide drift, infiltration into ground water and runoff from the farmlands. Air pollution increases through both the production and use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Clean-up projects of hazardous waste spills generated by manufacturing the fertilizers and pesticides must be undertaken. The use of synthetic pesticides on the land reduces the natural life of the soil. And pesticides are killing off species of insects, birds and fish throughout the world.
Health problems associated with the consumption of ‘conventional’ foods containing traces of synthetic chemicals will need to be taken care of and paid for in the future. These toxic residues in food are strongly linked to cancer, immune, neurological and reproductive diseases.
In Canada these environmental and health costs are all paid out of our tax dollars and thus the ‘conventional’ companies can afford to charge less for the food they are producing.
The cost of organic food is the true cost of growing food and supporting a food system with the safe, ethical and labour intensive techniques with which we envision food to be produced. We are paying farmers and producers the full value of working in environmentally friendly ways and taking full responsibility for our impact on the earth.
Whether we buy organic or ‘conventional’ food, our tax dollars go toward the environmental and health costs associated with agriculture that relies on synthetic chemicals, yet spending your grocery dollars on local organic food is the strongest vote you can get, if you do believe in organic agriculture.
Consider the cost of buying organic food at all times. Buying seasonally and locally may only cost marginally more than buying ‘conventional’ food that is out of season and shipped half way around the world. For the sake of argument, let’s say it costs $15.00 per week - $60.00 per month – more to buy almost all organic food. What does that equal? A couple drinks out or a few magazines each week, or a simple item of clothing over the month. I encourage you to take a few moments to think about the choices you make with your money – what do you spend on owning, maintaining, fuelling and parking your car - a great luxury in life? How does that compare to spending a little more on food that nourishes you better and has a gentler impact on this numinous planet we inhabit?
In British Columbia, we spend approximately ten percent of our disposable income on food, compare that with Europeans who spend twenty-five percent and third world countries who spend over fifty percent of their disposable income on food and it seems we undervalue both farmers and what we are eating. Statistics show that a high percentage of organic farmers have second jobs – organic farming is not a lucrative profession.
If you would like to spend more of your grocery dollars on organic food it is possible to do so in a more affordable way than is commonly understood. Buying packaged, processed, imported and out of season food is expensive whether it is organic or ‘conventional’. Yet taking the time to shop around and buy locally, seasonally and low on the food chain (buying food in its most natural unprocessed form) can keep the cost of buying organic very reasonable. Certainly, this approach to grocery shopping and food preparation will take more effort, but we will all profit in the short and long terms.