Organic Prices

[justontime]

Organic farming is more labour intensive in most cases and that will be reflected in the price. I am not convinced that the prices the supermarkets charge are always a reflection of what the producer gets, I think they charge a premium just because they can. If you are keen to eat organic maybe the next step is to try to buy local as well, by using farm shops, veg box schemes etc

[SageMother]

There is always a big mark up when items hit a store's shelves. It never reflects what the producer gets, which is less.

I heard that one of the states is making it easier for niche farmers to sell their items at Farmer's Markets and other direct sales venues. This is sure to lead to more diversity and better prices in the organic market.

Cutting out the middlemen will benefit us all.

[mom2manyboyz]

As far as mark up, of course there is some, the store has to stay in business as well. How much the item is marked up depends on the store.

Most of the eastern states have tons of farmers market and CSA's listed here: Local Harvest / Farmers Markets / Family Farms / CSA / Organic Food

Buying locally is always encouraged by environmentalists to reduce transportation costs and pollution.

[mollyL]

Another thing I don't think is taken into consideration especially in the crop production of organic fruits and vegs. You can't just say, "OK, I am an organic farmer now, everything I grow from now on is organic>" I know that the soil has to be planted with some different kinds of crops that will help to leach the chemicals out of the ground; they may have to let the land go fallow for a season or more. I'm sure there's more that has to happen before the land is certified organic. All that time there is no profit coming from the land.

[purple]

I've found as prices increase on other items there has been some stabilization of organic prices to the point where sometimes its cheaper to buy organic instead of regular. Just last week organic baby carots were .70/lb cheaper than regular as an extended organic item/earth day sale.

[mom2manyboyz]

I recently learned that in the US it is illegal to give poultry or pigs growth hormones. It is not illegal for cattle and growth hormones are commonly used in the dairy industry.

Originally Posted by Carl

I can concur with the explanation given for the organic milk being more expensive. My cousin used to raise chickens without giving them the growth hormones but they took so long to reach a decent commercial size that they would have eaten him out of business. His price per pound of chicken was therefore higher than those raised otherwise and he simply could not compete, at least not on price alone.

[tater03]

I haven't seen that here yet with the organic price decrease. I will have to keep an eye out here at our local store and see if this trend is coming our way.

[berlinlife06]

At least here in NYC, the prices for organic food is still more expensive than the rest. I'm pretty much broke, so I'm on a "SALE" diet, so I check and re-check everything that is on sale, and Organic is hardly ever on sale.