Groundwork Organics fresh picked strawberries, straight from the farm to the farm stand.
By: Kelly Honda
Americans are faced with the option of buying foods labeled as “organic”, resulting in the consequence of spending a few extra dollars to ensure that they are consuming non-genetically modified foods for the sake of their health. Organic foods are rumored to be safer to consume and offers more nutrients than conventional foods. The big issue surrounding foods being labeled as “organic,” is whether or not they are actually more nutritious, safer to consume, and worth the extra bucks.
Today, markets have a section labeled, “Organic”. Not only does this label gravitate people who want to believe that they are ingesting and investing in products that are good for their health, environment, and animals; but it also deters many who can’t afford it. Stephanie Watson, the Executive Editor of Harvard Women’s Health Watch brought up a good point of, if buying organic is impacting one’s health as much as it is their wallets.
According to the USDA’s Organic Market Overview, sales of organic products were, “an estimated $28.4 billion in 2012.” Then the Organic Trade Association reported organic sales to be $43.3 billion in 2015; both statistics are on behalf of the Nutrition Business Journal. The rise of organic sales is almost double, which leads to whether sales are due to the fact that organic products offer more nutrients than conventional, or if it’s just another mainstream fad.
Consumer Reports shopped at eight different grocery locations to compare the prices between organic and conventional. Concluding that it depends on the store in whether the pricing is of an extreme or still at a reasonable price. Assumptions that the price is double or triple compared to conventional foods can be a major turn off, but it can also be an indicator of a better product. With further research and interviews, answers will unfold in whether organic foods is an all around better alternative than conventional foods and worth the spendings.