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Different price tags?
A recent survey done by Consumer magazine on the extra cost of organics said that "if you look carefully in season, you can often find organics at similar prices to non-organic produce". And that "similar" sometimes means cheaper!

Many people think that organic food is more expensive than conventional. This is not always the case. It depends on the product and the time of the year. Sometimes organic produce is cheaper than conventional (for example, organic kiwifruit lasts longer than conventional, so when conventional runs out and they have to import it from overseas, you can still buy organic kiwifruit at half the price you will be paying for conventional!), or the same price if there’s an abundance of that particular fruit or vege because it’s in season, but admittedly organic farmers generally face additional production costs that reflect the higher price tag in some cases.

It’s more labour intensive: all weeding has to be done by hand. This brings more jobs in rural areas, but it does add to the costs of growing. Organic carrots for example need 200 hours worth of (hand) weeding per acre, instead of 18 hours/ acre for conventional growers.

Yields can be lower: without the help of artificial fertilizers, crops produce less quantities, for a shorter period of time. Example: The average conventional potato yield per Ha is 20 tonne, whereas the average organic potato yield per Ha is only 8-10 Tonne.

If we look at the true hidden costs of conventional agriculture, such as groundwater pollution, soil erosion, and loss of bio-diversity and natural habitat, and how much government money it costs to remedy these problems, we can start to see how organics are cheaper for the whole community in the long run.

 

Smart buying


if you look carefully in season, you can often find organics at similar prices to non-organic produce
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