Why does organic food cost more than inorganic food?”
“Organic” fairly recently evolved as a USDA standard when big ag wanted to get in on what began as a push by local producers. Organic is now a standard that means that food is produced without certain types of pesticides, herbicides & artificial fertilizers. This means that productivity is lower, manual labor may be increased & there is more loss to insects, leading to a higher price. The cachet of the organic label also means the price is probably higher just because the producers can get it. “Locally-produced” is a newer trend by the same small producers that encourages keeping agriculture production close to the consumer. This is desirable for several reasons: reduced fuel costs for shipping, support for small family farmers instead of big industrial ones, fresher food. As a bonus, much local ag is also organic & often uses heirloom varieties that are tastier & likely more nutritious due to freshness. These varieties are not generally offered by industrial agriculture because they a
