We won’t beat around the bush…it’s true that organic food does often cost more. But lets look at this from a different angle:
There are a lot of studies that show that prices of groceries pre 1991 argiculture reforms period to prices today has lagged inflation i.e. other prices/per capita GDP has increased at a faster rate as compared to food prices. Several factors contributing to this, one of them is rampant use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers which increases the yield of crop per acre.
On the flip side what does organic farming do? It uses natural soil fertilizers and pesticides. However, since its not filled with harmful chemicals, the chance of losing of crop is higher. For example, if we are able to grow 4 crops per year, in organic farming, the chance of losing 1 is higher as compared to regular farming. To make up for the lost crop, the price is higher.
Also, the effort needed to grow a crop organically is higher. For example, regular farming uses weedicides to get rid of weeds, however, the organic weedicides aren’t strong and the weeds have to be removed manually. This also makes it difficult to grow is extremely large scale which adds to the cost.
Lastly, the shelf life of the produce is lower than that of the non-organic produce as they are not sprayed after the harvest. Thus, post harvest storage adds on to the cost.
Given the multiple factors impacting the cost of organic food, a 20-30% increase in cost as compared to non-organic food is the bare minimum one should expect. Our organic food reflects the true cost of producing food, from sustainable pay for farmers to the elimination of toxic synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers and unnecessary cost of importing produce outside the state.
P.S: There are a lot of studies that show a long term health benefits of eating organic food. If you factor in the cost of health, then an increase of 1000-2000/- per month for a family buying 5000/- of groceries is a very small cost as compared to the benefits
We at Simple Soul, bring fresh, unadulterated, harmful pesticide free organic food grains, organic flours, cold pressed oils, sustainable home products and chemical free personal care products to homes in Bangalore, Karnataka.
