The price of organic food is a controversial topic in today’s political climate. Many people have strong feelings about organic food and how much it should cost. The most intense opposing opinions are as follows. Some think that organic food should be bought and consumed by everyone, even at their high price. Others think that organic food is set at too high of a price for an average person to buy it. This issue is debated across the country on many scales. Some have even written opinionated and informative articles on the subject. The price of organic food is at a substantially high rate, making it available to a more limited crowd. Though there are many benefits from organic food, there are many downsides to as well that many people do not …show more content…
In the end, the two really don’t require that different amounts of energy. In this sense, organic farming is a good use of resources to produce pure foods. In Marion Nestle’s article called “Buying Organic Fruits and Vegetables Is a Personal Choice,” she talks about benefits of organic food. It has been confirmed that organic vs. nonorganic foods contain less pesticides than those produced on the typical non organic farm. Both of these facts are reasons why organic crops are considered to be very good for people to eat and produce. Organic foods, despite many of their downsides, should be made and eaten by people who can afford it. Although, their high price make it difficult for numerous people to afford to buy and produce food, there are proven facts displaying the benefits of organics vs. non …show more content…
David Lazarus talks about this subject of pricing in his article called “Is Organic Food Worth the Higher Price? Many Experts Say No.” Many people cited in this article do not think that there is a big enough difference in the quality of the food to justify how high the price is. To an even higher degree, some even supposed that organic food is not considerably better for you. This article is a valuable piece of writing that discusses how people will not buy something even if it’s most redeeming quality (for organic food, this is the the lack of pesticides) is not far ahead of its competition. Another argument made in this paper is that the word “organic,” when put on a food label, realistically meaning nothing. The producers of the food are able to use artificial ingredients in the creation of so-called organic food and still somehow allowed to refer to it as organic. Not to mention, they still charge a higher price for it. It was eventually determined, in the end of the article, that organic food should be produced and purchased by those who can afford it, but people should not go out of their way to buy it because its price is too high for the little benefits it provides against its competition. Bjorn Lomborg also discusses this topic in his article called “Organic Food Is For the Wealthy, Not the Poor.” He talks about how the price of organic food can
In recent years, it is not even necessary to turn on the news to hear about the bad reputation farming has been getting in recent years. With the media focusing on things like drugs in animals and Pink Slime, or Lean Finely Textured Beef, it is a wonder that people are eating “non-organic” foods. However, many pro-farming organizations have been trying to fight back against these slanders. Still, the battle is not without heavy competition, and a good portion of it comes from Chipotle, a fast food Mexican restaurant that claims to only use completely organic ingredients in their food. Chipotle is constantly introducing advertisements claiming to have the natural ingredients, while slandering the names of farmers everywhere.
Organic products and non-organic products have been a subject of interest to me for a great amount of time because I have often questioned whether there really was a difference between the two types of products. I always wondered what the nutritional, economic, laborious, and pollution differences were, if any, in the creation of the two types of products. Through research, I have found several sources of information that allow me to determine more than a physical difference between the two. To start, labeling something as organic is specific and determined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The regulations set are extremely specific and it is relatively difficult to meet the standards.
Steven Shapin is an expert when it comes to telling people the reality of the situation. In his, article “What Are You Buying When You Buy Organic?” Shapin exposes and explains the truth behind the word organic. He explains that our view on organic is not a reality. The small farms that we picture in our heads are really just big business in disguise and these big businesses are trying to do good by supposedly not using harmful pesticides. Which are supposed to not damage the environment but in reality they are probably not making any sort of difference. Some people care about the environment, while others are buying taste when it comes to organic food but using different pesticides are going to help the taste, only freshness tastes the best.
While the organic movement has increased the production and sale of organic food in the United States, something that should be noted is that the stock of Whole Foods Market, a grocery store is dedicated to the sale of organic food, has gone down 40% since October of 2013. Whole Foods Market’s success rates are slowly beginning to diminish and it may lose its dominance in the organic foods market (The Economist, 2014). While this may seem indicative of a decrease in public interest of organic food, it really indicates the opposite. After seeing the success of Whole Foods Market, new stores such as Trader Joe’s and Sprouts entered the organic market and became strong competition. The decline in Whole Foods Market’s success may be attributed
Currently, there is a global demand emerging for organic products specifically a huge consumer demand in the United States and Europe. The United States ranks fourth in organically farmed land globally, and sales of organic food have increased by almost a factor of six, from $3.6 billion in 1997 to $21.1 billion in 2008 (Reganold, Andrews, Reeve, Carpenter-Boggs, Schadt, Alldredge, Ross, Davies, Zhou, 2010). In the United States, organic farming has gained much popularity in the farm sector, mainly due to the new wave or generally recognized as healthy food products (Uematsu, Mishra, 2012).
Yiridoe, E., Bonti-Ankomah, S., & Martin, R. (2005). Comparison of consumer perceptions and preference toward organic versus conventionally produced foods: A review and update of the literature. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 20(4), 193-205. Retrieved from http://journals.cambridge.org.er.lib.k-state.edu/action/displayFulltext?type=6&fid=692720&jid=RAF&volumeId=20&issueId=04&aid=692716&bodyId=&membershipNumber=&societyETOCSession=&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S1742170505000220
A. A. The “What's So Great About Organic Food?” Time. 176.9 (2010): 30-40. Online.
With the world’s population continuing to increase, the demand for food is higher than ever. This increase in food demand also calls for more efficient ways of growing and providing the food. Two methods that are very controversial are the organic and conventional method. While many people support the organic method because of its known benefits, others feel that it is an over inflated industry that cheats consumers out of their money. But recently many studies have disproved those critics. These studies prove that Organic food is a better choice than conventional because it is better for the environment, avoids the use of chemicals, and is generally more beneficial.
The term “organic” is almost everywhere in modern society, whether it’s used to promote a product or it’s debated on whether it really benefits the human diet. Organic food is heavily debated on as it appears more and more in local grocery stores and farmers markets begin to populate, it raises questions such as “Is organic food better than food grown with pesticides and biologically engineered genes?” and “Are there benefits to eating organically over foods grown in any other way?” In terms of what data and results show in research may help lead to answers to most of the heavily debated issues throughout discussions on organic food.
Have you ever seen an organic aisle at a store and wondered why it costs so much more? Organic foods are foods that met guidelines set by The U.S. Agriculture Department. Organic foods do not have pesticides or other fertilizers in them. Organic foods are not worthwhile because of expense and the lack of difference. It has been argued that organic foods are worth the extra cost.
Despite popular belief, organic farming has similar qualities, and does not provide any great advantages or disadvantages over conventional farming. Any type of production methods in use has setbacks: this is also the case for conventional and organic farming. The disadvantages of organic farming involve expensive price tags and short shelf life. The prices of organic food are burdensomely more expensive than the prices of conventional food. Also, merely days after a person purchased his or her organic groceries, the foods have already begun to spoil due to the absence of preservatives in the foods (“Natural and Organic Food”).
Conclusion: Now a day’s organic food is getting popular and people are getting aware about the health promoting benefits of having organic food and it is easily available in the grocery store labeled as organic. The main reason most of the people don’t opt for organic food is it is higher in price, we have a false sense that conventional food comes at lower price, the price does not include the government spending on cleaning of pollution caused by producing such conventional produces, and government subsidies on agriculture, these are all tax payers money and ultimately goes from our pocket, thus why thing on short term benefits of conventional food, when organic food has long term benefit on our health , environment and future.
Thirty years later, organic farming was in high demand, but suffered developing pains. Although there was agreements being made, there was no regulations put forth towards organic farming. Fast forwarding to present time, many consumers are starting to purchase organic food products even making it a trend. Written in Inouye, Alena, and McCauley’s 2006 article “Organic Farming Should Be Pursued”, “organic farming is gaining in popularity due to Americans ' increasing concern about food safety and environmental protection.” This quote assumes the reasoning behind the sudden popularity in organic farming is society’s attraction towards the idea of a cleaner food industry and environment. The article also mentions, “As a result, sales of organic foods in the United States have increased by more than 20 percent every year since 1996, reaching $7.8 billion in 2000.”(Inouye, Alena, McCauley) The fact that popularity towards organic farming grows at a rate of 20 percent every single year further proves how its movement has such an impact towards the consumers of
Organic food is food that is grown without any pesticide or fertilizers. In recent years, sales for organic foods are increasing every year. A lot of people go to supermarkets in order to buy some organic foods, because they think that organic foods are healthier than conventional foods. People purchase organic foods for different reasons such as personal health, the quality of organic foods, and taste, but the most important reason is personal health. The topic that whether organic foods have more benefits or not is very controversial for a long time. Maybe some people believe that organic foods are beneficial to human health, but some other people disagree with the viewpoint, so buying organic foods depend on people’s choices. People believe organic foods are healthier because they generally think organic foods have less pesticide and fertilizer residue, more nutritional values, and are beneficial to environment.
The high cost associated with organic is due to the cost of becoming USDA certified which can range from, “a few hundreds to several thousand dollars” (USDA). There is also a cost associated with an annual renewal certificate as well as the cost of production and processing. With organic, producers try to set themselves apart from competitors by adding labels such as organic, antibiotic free, and no added growth hormones to grab the attention of consumers. According to the USDA, organic consumers are becoming mainstream and are generally people who have concerns regarding their health, environment, and the welfare of the animal (). Organic consumers also show a willingness to pay the price premiums established in the marketplace to have the confidence in choosing a product that comforts their concerns