When you are out at the grocery store and comparing 2 items do you find yourself torn? Say you can choose between 1lb of tomatoes which are labeled organic and 1lb of tomatoes which cost just $1. How are you going to decide? Which wins and makes it into your shopping basket – frugal or organic?
This happens to me a lot, at least it used to. Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “I can’t afford to eat organic produce!” Or you might have heard the comment, “Can we afford not to?” It makes the job of shopping a whole lot easier after all if we focus on the difference in price between the two types of tomatoes. But maybe we’re not really happy somewhere inside about this choice. As parents we do care about our children and, if we think about it, we can’t be too happy about the environmental legacy they are being handed.
So, how much is organic food worth to you? If the local, organically farmed tomatoes are $2 per lb and the imported ones are $1 would you pay the difference? Do you care about the relative price or the absolute price? Do you buy the least expensive vegetables when you shop, picking cabbage because it costs less than broccoli, or do you look for the least expensive carrots, tomatoes, or apples? What constitutes frugal for you?
I’m just wondering. I look forward to hearing what you have to say on this.
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We buy organic depending on what it is. Canned beans are typically only 10 to 20 cents more, and often they have a buy one get one free sale, so we stock up. The produce is trickier. Very little fresh organic produce is available where we live. And it’s typically not just double, but usually quadruple the cost. Milk is just as bad. A half gallon of organic milk costs almost double the cost of a gallon of regular. A dozen eggs is 78 cents. A dozen organic eggs is $3.27. We conducted an experiment one week and bought all organic products. And blew the budget for the rest of the month. Maybe when the kids are in school and I go back to work we can afford it. This is why I need to try to find a sunny spot in the yard somewhere to grow our own stuff.
I have lofty ideal to buy organic, but I practically never do. Especially when my grocery money has to go farther than ever. I am planning a big garden, in summer I buy nearly all my vegetables from our local farmer’s market, but I just can’t bring myself to spend double or triple the amount for what is sometimes less attractive (and less tasty) produce at our general grocery stores ( I can’t even consider Whole Foods). I try to pay attention to what I seem to remember about buying organic, which has something to do with peaches and apricots, etc., being much better, but carrots not so much. It’s just another source of guilt that I’m probably not going to do anything about.
Wow, I can’t say I’ve ever compared the cost like you have Janet – paying 4x to get organic just isn’t going to work for the majority of families!
Marsha, I know the recommendations you are talking about. I know I have a link to a site which makes recommendations on which produce is worst for pesticides – the ones that test out for the most difference between conventional and organic. When I find it again I’m going to post it.
I don’t like it when I choose the non-organic option