Organic Food - Is Organic Food Really More Expensive?

Author: Amira Elgan

The housing market crunch in the U.S., rising oil prices and the economic downturn worldwide are hitting consumers with skyrocketing food costs.

Consumers are tightening their belts and trying to cut costs any way possible. But people have got to eat.

The question is: What kind of food?

Some reports suggest that organic consumers might be switching from organic foods to conventional in order to cut costs. But is this a good idea? And does it really save money?

I always urge clients who think they can't afford organic food to instead cut costs elsewhere -- cut back on restaurants, movies, manicures, clothes, shoes, alcohol and any other frivolous unnecessary expenses they might not realize they make. After all, how important is health compared to passive entertainment, vanity and materialism?

I also urge clients to eat more organic vegetables, grains and beans and less meat, as a strategy that both saves money and improves health at the same time.

Conventional agriculture involves the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics in food production based on the dubious assumption that low levels of toxins in our foods are safe. Although they probably won't harm us in the short term, these toxins accumulate in our bodies over the years, and can cause negative long-term health effects, including cancer.

Organic foods, on the other hand, contain fewer toxins. But there's another surprising benefit that's directly related to cost: It turns out that organic foods generally contain higher concentrations of the very qualities that make fruits and vegetables good for you in the first place.

A recent study conducted by Rutgers University in collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows that organic blueberries contain higher values of ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) than conventional blueberries. I believe that organic blueberries taste better than conventional ones. And now an important study shows that organic blueberries also provide better protection against radicals that could otherwise cause harm to our bodies making us more susceptible to cancer.

A previous, 10-year study conducted at the University of California, Davis, and published last year found that levels of the flavonoids quercetin and kaempferol were on average 79 and 97 per cent higher, respectively, in organic tomatoes. These are flavonoids are antioxidants, which have myriad health benefits and protection from disease.

Yet another study published last year and conducted by researchers in Britain, France and Poland found that organic carrots, apples, peaches and potatoes have more vitamin C, beta-carotene and -- confirming the Davis study -- flavonoids.

Research that compares organic foods with conventional equivalents is still in its infancy. The vast majority of foods have not been tested. However, the limited testing done so far seems to show something interesting about the difference.

When a fruit or vegetable plant is grown using organic methods, this is as close as this plant comes to growing in its wildest natural form without the interference of genetic modification, use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Instead, organic farmers use laborious but natural techniques, which in the end force the plant to develop its own natural defenses. Science is demonstrating that these defenses are precisely the elements within produce that make fruits and vegetables so good for you.

Those who might be considering cutting corners to be more fiscally responsible during these hard economic times might want to reconsider.

Here's another way to think about the cost of organic foods:

Conventional produce is cheaper only on a calories-per-dollar basis or a pound-per-dollar basis.

But if you could somehow compare ORAC-per-dollar, antioxidants-per-dollar or vitamins-per-dollar -- or come up with a metric that measured health-benefits-per-dollar, it's likely that organic food might be cheaper than conventional.

And, of course, if you were also to factor in the healthcare costs that could be required later in life as the result of eating a lifetime of conventional, industrial foods -- well, that just might drive the cost of conventional foods through the roof.

After all, what are you buying when you pay for food? Are you buying delicious flavor and radiant health? Or are you just trying to get maximum calories at minimum short-term cost? That's the choice.

Next: Grow Your Own Food

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