I recently read a few articles regarding organic food (have some friends that will only eat organic) holy smoke on average organic products run you 47% more this just blows my mind.
I have watched a couple friends of ours struggle for the past few years and now I can tell them how to cut costs.
My wife took them to Costco so they could buy some of the new organic products that they offer and use our membership they were amazed (I think they shop Whole Foods a lot).
Watch where you shop I read this in the article, many of the same products are offered at you local grocery store for less than you pay at Whole Foods, Natural Grocer and Sunflower Market.
One of the articles I was reading pointed out that Amazon Fresh also has some good prices.
On average my wife and I spend about $350.00 on food each month (not including going out) this can go up or down. Winter time it is higher as we tend to stay home during bad weather. I can not imagine paying an additional $147.00 per month for the same stuff (in my eyes) that is almost $1800.00 per year I could sure put that to good use.
The article also said if you are an organic shopper and you do not price shop at different stores and buy larger packages of meat you could be paying on average 87% more.
I prefer organic produce to eat, grow, and sell. My feeling personally is why eat bug spray if I don't have to. The reason "Certified Organic" is costs much more is due to the cost and time of getting "certified" by the government. It is sad how we have allowed the government to take control of our food the way they do. They now "own" the word organic in a sense and that has driven the cost up.
We try to give everyone the best pricing possible on all produce we bring in for the market and grow ourselves. When I shop for my family, I try to buy on sale and local. If you know where the produce comes for, you can ask the farm directly what their growing practices are. Some farms "grow organically" but cannot afford to get certified or are in the process, which takes years and roughly a half million dollars.
My best advice as a small farmer is to shop locally when possible, buy organic when affordable, and try to learn what farms your produce comes from and ask the farm about growing practices. Meat is very easy to find by the 1/4, 1/2, and whole sides. Check local craigslist of FB groups. We raise pork here in Conifer and there are many local folks who raise beef cattle also.
