Recently I posted a blog called, Summer Veggies and Fruit – The Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen.  I received feedback concerning the use of pesticides on fruit and vegetables and the expense of buying organic.

There are many good reasons why organic produce is more expensive than non-organic.  I’ve chosen just a few:

1.  no chemicals = more labor – conventional farms use chemicals and synthetic pesticides which gets the job done faster.  The organic farmers have to hire more help for tasks such as hand weeding.
2.  demand overwhelms supply -“Retail sales of organic food rose from $3.6 billion in 1997 to $21.1 billion in 2008, according to the USDA, and 58 percent of Americans claim they prefer to eat organic over non-organic food. However, organic farmland only accounts for 0.9 percent of total worldwide farmland, and organic farms tend to produce less than conventional farms.”
3.  higher cost of fertilizer – organic farmers use compost and manure which is expensive to ship.
4.  organic certification – USDA Organic Certification is not an easy task.  There are certain standards a farmer must comply with to achieve this certification.  It is also expensive.  Depending on the size of the farm, the annual cost starts at between $400-$2000.  This is a lot of money for the farmer.

“I want to buy organic produce, but I can’t afford to do it on a regular basis.”  Ok I hear you loud and clear.  Organic food costs can really add up especially if you are feeding a large family. If that is the case, try and buy non-organic from the Clean Fifteen list.  These fruits and vegetables are least likes to hold pesticide residues.  If you buy non-organic from the Dirty Dozen, make sure you wash the fruit/vegetables in a diluted vinegar mix.  This will help to rinse off any pesticide residue.