You probably already know more than a dozen reasons why it’s worth paying a little bit more to eat organic food, but there are plenty of folks who say they don’t understand why organic produce costs more than conventional produce.
Here’s a little information about the added cost of organic farming to help you understand the difference in price.
1) No Toxic Chemicals = More Labor Costs
When you eat organic lettuce, you’re supporting a method of farming that doesn’t use synthetic chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Organic farms tend to pay more per acre to produce their crops because they require more labor to deal with weeds and pests in the fields. Not only are YOU consuming less chemical residue, but so too are the farm workers who are continuously exposed to harmful chemicals on industrial farms.
2) Organic Farms Tend to Be Smaller
While organic farming has been successful on an industrial scale, most of our suppliers run small, family-owned farms right here in New England. Without the added benefit of economies of scale, these farmers face higher processing and distribution costs.
That’s where we come in! As an aggregator and a USDA recognized food hub, we help small producers gain entry into larger markets and reach people like you and your family.
3) Specialty Crop Farmers Don’t Receive Subsidies
Rather than thinking of organic food as more expensive than conventional food, we should consider that the price of conventional food is kept artificially low. Because Congress hasn’t been able to pass a new farm bill, the agricultural subsidy program continues to lower the cost of commodity crops like corn, rice, and wheat.
This system is broken in a number of ways, and it means that specialty crop growers are forced to compete with farmers who benefit from federal price support. In 2008, Congress spent $7.5 billion on direct farm subsidies and only $15 million on programs to support organic and local food.
4) Certification and Regulation Costs Money
The word “organic” is a legally defined and protected word. The National Organic Program, implemented in 2002, established very strict standards for what can be sold under the “organic” label and consumers have come to trust this stamp as a result.
Farms must pay an annual inspection/certification fee to label their produce “organic,” and this fee can reach as much as $2,000 per year for a large farm. In addition to their passion for organic farming methods, farmers apply for certification because they can see that the demand for organic food is growing.
According to the USDA, in 2008 the $21.1 billion organic food industry accounted for over 3 percent of total food sales. Because of people like you, this number continues to grow.
Now you know a few reasons why organic produce tends to be more expensive than conventional produce. But you should also know that we work hard every week to fill your boxes with the freshest organic fruits and vegetables around at a price that you and your family can afford. Our prices are comparable to the organic produce that you’d find in a supermarket, plus you have the added convenience of having your produce delivered to your door!
When you buy your groceries through Boston Organics, you also know that you’re supporting a local company with an environmental conscience that works closely with family farmers throughout New England.
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A special thanks to Albert’s Organics for their initial research on this blog post. They also put together this short video on the definition of organic sustainable farming:
These days more and more consumers are looking for ways to avoid genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in their food. There are currently two food labels that indicate the absence of GMOs for consumers: the USDA Organic label and the Non-GMO Project Verified seal.
As a local supporter of transparency in our food system, we think it’s great that consumers are able to make informed decisions about GMOs through both the Non-GMO Project and USDA Organic certification.
When you’re comparing products at the grocery store, you might be wondering – what’s the difference between these two labels, and what do they mean in terms of GMO avoidance? Here’s a general overview of the two labels and their verification processes.
USDA Certified Organic Seal:
The National Organic Program is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Their organic certification is a process-based certification that requires farmers and producers to follow approved methods in order to achieve organic certification.
GMOs are prohibited from certified organic products, which means farmers are not allowed to grow produce from GMO seeds, their animals can’t eat GMO feed, and organic food producers can’t use GMO ingredients.
Certified organic farms and facilities follow a site-specific organic system plan and are inspected annually by third party organic inspectors to ensure compliance. In order to fulfill the USDA organic regulations, farmers and processors must prove that they aren’t using GMOs in any part of their production and are utilizing approved practices to protect their products or crops.
All USDA certified organic produce, grains, meats, and processed foods do not allow the use of GMOs.
What does the organic certification mean?
- Processed foods with 95%-100% certified organic ingredients can be certified to use the USDA Organic Seal. The other 5% like salt and water cannot contain GMOs.
- Prohibits use of chemical fertilizers, synthetic substances, irradiation, sewage sludge, or GMOs in organic production.
- Prohibits antibiotic and synthetic hormone use in organic meat and poultry.
- Requires 100% organic feed for organic livestock.
- Verification is maintained through 3rd party inspectors’ annual site inspections, organic system plan review, and residue testing.*
*Residue testing is only done when inspectors are concerned that farms or businesses have used prohibited substances or methods. Tests can be random or risk-based, but are not mandatory.
The Non-GMO Project’s Non-GMO Seal:
The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization that independently offers GMO test verification and labeling for non-GMO products. Their verification is process-based, using traceability, segregation, and testing to ensure compliance with their standards.
Companies looking to receive the Non-GMO Project stamp must follow the project’s standards of best practices and have product testing conducted at various stages of production, anywhere from the field to the packaging facility.
Despite their inspection process, the project can’t legally claim products to be “GMO free” because the contamination risks to seeds, crops, and ingredients are too high. However, they’re the only organization offering independent verification of testing for GMO products in the US and Canada.
What does the Non-GMO Project’s Verification Process require?
- Requires ongoing testing of all at-risk ingredients – any ingredient that is grown commercially in GMO form must be tested prior to use in a verified product.
- They use an Action Threshold of 0.9%. This is in alignment with laws in the European Union, where any product containing more than 0.9% GMO must be labeled.
- Absence of all GMOs is the target for all Non-GMO Project Standard compliant products. Continuous improvement towards achieving this goal must be part of the Participant’s quality management systems.
- After the test, they require rigorous traceability and segregation practices to be followed in order to ensure ingredient integrity through to the finished product.
- For low-risk ingredients, they conduct a review of ingredient specification sheets to determine absence of GMO risk.
- Verification is maintained through an annual audit, along with onsite inspections for high-risk products.
Key Differences Between the Labels:
What’s the Best Way to Avoid GMOs?
Both USDA organic certification and the Non-GMO Project seal are great methods for avoiding GMOs. Furthermore, both labels are helping to provide greater transparency for consumers about what’s in their food and how it’s being produced.
Beyond banning GMOs in fresh and processed organic foods, the USDA organic certification takes a holistic approach to the health of our food system and food producers. Organic products are produced without the use of synthetic chemicals, which are dangerous for farmers, consumers, our land, and our water systems. These extra steps help to promote a sustainable and safe food system.
The Non-GMO Project’s strict set of standards and guidelines, including multi-level testing, ensures that companies and producers are avoiding GMOs in all aspects of production. The Non-GMO Project also provides education to the public about the risks associated with GMOs, the importance of labeling, and tips about how to best avoid them.
Go Organic for Unprocessed Foods
Unfortunately, the Non-GMO Project only verifies meats and processed foods commonly found in the center aisles of the grocery store. Due to the lack of verification for fresh produce, buying certified organic produce is the only way to avoid GMOs in your fresh foods.
Since the US government does not enforce the labeling of GMOs for all food producers, the Non-GMO Project is filling a much-needed void. Choosing any product that has been verified by The Non-GMO Project is a safe bet for avoiding GMOs, and it’s the only safeguard against GMOs when not buying organic.
Check out these resources for more information:
Learn more about why we only carry 100% certified organic produce!
Recently, there have been many articles about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the news and how California’s upcoming election may impact the US food industry. This issue has continued to heat up as we approach the final 24 hours before the election.
As you may have heard, tomorrow California will have a new proposition on their ballot: Proposition 37. Prop 37 is the Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food Initiative. Genetically engineered or modified (GE or GMO) foods are food items with raw or processed ingredients that have been made from genetically altered plants or animals. In other words, their DNA has been altered by scientists in a laboratory.
If passed, Prop 37 will require the labeling of genetically modified foods. It will also stop the improper labeling and advertisement of foods processed or made with GMOs as “natural.” California’s early vote is often the stepping stone to national change on high-level issues. We are hoping the passing of Proposition 37 will be the push the nation needs.
GMO labeling is very important because the research on the safety of GMOs is still out. There are many reports of unknown effects of GMOs on humans, and the short-term research that has been done on animals is inconclusive.
We believe we have the right to know what’s in our food and how it was produced. Until there is hard evidence stating that GMOs are totally safe and healthy for you, we’re going to stick to what nature gives us – delicious organic produce.
At Boston Organics, we understand the importance of healthy natural food. We strive to bring you the freshest produce in our weekly boxes and want to assure you, you will never receive anything in your box that isn’t organic. All of the food we deliver to you has been certified by an accredited organic certifier. The certification process goes from fruit to tree, to land to farm to ensure everything is 100% organic. For more information on Organic Certification visit the USDA website.
We hope this information helps shed some light on the big decision Californians will have to make in tomorrow’s election. Here are some links to help you continue the discussion on GMO’s and Organics:
One of the most anticipated gifts of summer has arrived. Summer farmers markets have popped up around Boston! There’s nothing quite like meeting the farmer who grew your food and being able to ask about where your produce came from and how it was grown.
Farmers markets offer the chance for shoppers to make the most informed decisions, and that starts with knowing where your food is coming from. In order to make the best choices for you, your family, and the environment, use the farmers market as an opportunity to educate yourself! Local foods can still have pesticides on them, so ask around and find out what the farmers are using on their crops. Most farmers are more than happy to tell you all about what they do and how they grow their produce.
In order to learn more about the foods at your local farmers markets, here are some questions we think are helpful to ask the farmers you meet.
Do you follow organic guidelines or other environmentally sustainable agricultural practices?
- If the farm is Certified Organic, then you can know with confidence that they are using strict guidelines that ensure your food is being produced in a safe and sustainable way. However, just because a farm isn’t Certified Organic, it doesn’t mean they don’t use sustainable agricultural methods. Without the certification, you may need to do a little more research to better understand what they are and are not doing. Farmers markets provide a great opportunity to find out directly from the grower what kinds of practices they use.
- To get a better sense of what all of it means for the farmer, the crops, the environment, and you, you may want to ask the farmers the following questions…
How do you fertilize?
There are many effective and safe ways to fertilize soil in sustainable ways. Find out the farmer’s methods and look into it yourself!
Do you use any synthetic pesticides or fungicides?
As a general rule, all synthetic chemicals are prohibited in organic agriculture. The presence of agricultural chemicals like pesticides in our food system is greater now than it ever has been, and the long term effects of exposure to these chemicals are, at best, not reliably known, and at worst, proven to cause harm to humans. Due to the sheer amount of these chemicals that are used all around us, we just can’t escape them. We need to be particularly careful about what we expose our children to: even small concentrations of agricultural chemicals in growing bodies isn’t good.
How do you manage pests and disease? Do you practice Integrated Pest Management?
Some farms practice techniques such as integrated pest management (IPM) in order to limit the amount of synthetic pesticides they release into the environment. Since this is not regulated and there are no standards, IPM can vary from farm to farm.
Do you use genetically modified seeds (GMOs)?
Genetically modified seeds are relatively new but are gaining widespread use. The long term health and environmental risks which GMOs pose have not yet been adequately investigated. Genetically modified seeds and foods are prohibited in Organic standards. Organic certification is one of the only safeguards against GMOs.
How do you decide which products to grow?
What crops are coming into season next? Are they growing on a schedule?
How has the weather impacted your crops this season?
What’s your favorite fruit or vegetable?
To learn more about the benefits of produce that’s both local AND organic, check out this great article!
What questions do you like to ask your farmers at the farmers market? Let us know!