Buying Organic: Worth the Cost?

Organic produce costs more to grow than produce grown with non-organic fertilizers and pesticides. For example, the price of regular raw spinach at my local supermarket is $1.49 per pound. The cost of organic spinach is $2.49 per pound. Is organic produce worth paying so much more for?

Think Price per Nutrition, Not Price per Pound

Organic produce is generally more nutritious than non-organic produce. So while you probably pay more for less food when you buy organic, you might actually pay less for more nutrition when you buy organic. A large study comparing nutrition in organic and non-organic foods found that antioxidant levels were up to 40 percent higher in organic fruits and vegetables than in their non-organic counterparts.

There are differences in animal foods, as well. The same study found that organic milk contains up to 60 percent more antioxidants and healthy fats than non-organic milk.

And Then There's Pesticides

Eating organic will also reduce your exposure to toxic pesticides. A study by researchers at Emory University, the University of Washington, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found unsafe levels of certain pesticides in 23 elementary school children. When they placed the children on an organic diet for 15 days, the pesticide levels dropped immediately.

Until more is known about the long-term consequences of eating non-organic foods, there will continue to be debate about the costs and benefits of organic foods.