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farming> cost of organics
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.
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Smart buying
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if you look carefully in season, you can
often find organics at similar prices to non-organic produce |
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