ORGANIC VS. CONVENTIONAL STICKER SHOCK: Adding It Up
Organics and local foods are often pricier than their non-pedigreed equivalents, and for families on public assistance or tight food budgets, the premium for healthier foods can be an unaffordable luxury. But the extent of those price differences can sometimes be shocking, as I found in October 2007 when I visited a Portland supermarket (not an upscale health food store).
There were a few surprises. Only pennies separated the price of conventional canned beans from their organic equivalents, and the produce manager said that he’d stopped stocking non-organic beets because the price differential was negligible.
But for most staple items, the cost of organics was not only higher, but substantially so. The above six items tell the story: The organic alternatives exceed the average recipient’s weekly allotment of food stamps*, but the non-organic varieties consume only 54%.
*The average food stamp recipient in America receives $21/week for groceries.
-Kevin Allman
Tips on reducing the damage of conventional fruits and vegetables.
Comments
I also note from the organic prices that you chose the *cheaper* options.
$1.49 for organic pasta is the sale price in my neck of the woods.
Washington apples are the cheapest ones out there now, with most varieties at Wild Oats being over $2/lb.
Same with the eggs. Organic, free range, local eggs are running ~$4 a doz.
However- I believe that we should be paying even more than those organic prices for our grocery bills. I want more of my grocery money to be going to the growers. But then again, I believe in mythic creatures like "living wages" too.
Posted by: McAuliflower | January 12, 2008 12:38 PM