4 ms·

I don't understand why organic food is this expensive in the US in places like WFM. In France for example 'bio' tagged food is getting cheaper everyday, some p

by Raed667 10y ago

I don't understand why organic food is this expensive in the US in places like WFM. In France for example 'bio' tagged food is getting cheaper everyday, some products are sometimes even cheaper than their counter-part.

mcguire 10y ago
I doubt that organic food is "expensive", except in comparison; 'non-organic' is very cheap. Industrial agriculture works very well, with some quality tradeoffs.
vidoc 10y ago
> I don't understand why organic food is this expensive in the US in places like WFM. I have been wondering about this myself, products labeled 'organic' have varying degrees of quality that I assume are reflected in distributor price. Now, while in my experience WF tends to mostly have higher quality organic stuff on their shelves than my other go-to stores, my intuition is that their markup is pretty important. When I think about it, it seems apparent that WF and similar stores simply have a strategy of luxury: the higher prices are a statement, in addition to improving the perceived value of the products to the buyer, they also secure a relative exclusivity. In other words, they've gone a little bit apple-store of food.
briandear 10y ago
Using France as an example, a liter of organic milk at my local Super U is about €0.50 more expensive than the equivalent non-organic -- this is comparing the Super U store brand -- which should eliminate "branding" markup from the equation.
- vidoc 10y ago
  What's funny is that the price difference between both countries is almost anecdotal in the case of milk. You would probably have a heart attack if you saw the price of cheese, and not only imported cheese, domestic 'artisanal' cheese too. The prices are just borderline grotesque, they are so extreme that they basically sell cheese pre-cut, in tiny tiny quantities. Most consumers ignore the fact that different kinds of cheeses should be cut a certain way for actual reasons and not out of sheer snobbism, consequently they sell them the pointe and the talon at the same price, lol! Can't resist: the other day we made a 3 cheese fondue for four and it costed us close to a benjamin just in cheese at WF!
  - Raed667 10y ago
    If you can read some French here there is a price comparison table [0], some 'organic' food is even cheaper than its branded counter-part. [0] http://www.consoglobe.com/achat-bio-cher-2846-cg http://www.consoglobe.com/achat-bio-cher-2846-cg
- johnchristopher 10y ago
  Belgian here. Keep in mind milk price is highly distorted and producers are facing aggressive pricing from their buyers. For example I can buy milk straight from the cow for 80ç by just crossing the street and asking the producer's wife to fill my bottle. Organic milk is around 1.20€ last time I checked, fair milk around 1.1€, brand milk around 80-1.20€ and `cheap` milk is around 60ç.
johnchristopher 10y ago
Keep in mind `bio` is a segment being chased after by established supermarkets. There's is such a thing as mass produced bio products (which are not eco-friendly at all) and lobbying to get more things labelled `bio` to the point that you can see some producers dropping the bio tag and privileging direct sells (it's local and bio, que demande le peuple ?).
- Raed667 10y ago
  I totally agree with you, the 'bio' tag will not provide much assurance about the product if big names start to manipulate it. I try to buy from local 'marché' however it isn't always convenient if you work full days.

by Raed667 10y ago

mcguire 10y ago

I doubt that organic food is "expensive", except in comparison; 'non-organic' is very cheap. Industrial agriculture works very well, with some quality tradeoffs.

vidoc 10y ago

> I don't understand why organic food is this expensive in the US in places like WFM. I have been wondering about this myself, products labeled 'organic' have varying degrees of quality that I assume are reflected in distributor price. Now, while in my experience WF tends to mostly have higher quality organic stuff on their shelves than my other go-to stores, my intuition is that their markup is pretty important. When I think about it, it seems apparent that WF and similar stores simply have a strategy of luxury: the higher prices are a statement, in addition to improving the perceived value of the products to the buyer, they also secure a relative exclusivity. In other words, they've gone a little bit apple-store of food.

briandear 10y ago

Using France as an example, a liter of organic milk at my local Super U is about €0.50 more expensive than the equivalent non-organic -- this is comparing the Super U store brand -- which should eliminate "branding" markup from the equation.

vidoc 10y ago
What's funny is that the price difference between both countries is almost anecdotal in the case of milk. You would probably have a heart attack if you saw the price of cheese, and not only imported cheese, domestic 'artisanal' cheese too. The prices are just borderline grotesque, they are so extreme that they basically sell cheese pre-cut, in tiny tiny quantities. Most consumers ignore the fact that different kinds of cheeses should be cut a certain way for actual reasons and not out of sheer snobbism, consequently they sell them the pointe and the talon at the same price, lol! Can't resist: the other day we made a 3 cheese fondue for four and it costed us close to a benjamin just in cheese at WF!
- Raed667 10y ago
  If you can read some French here there is a price comparison table [0], some 'organic' food is even cheaper than its branded counter-part. [0] http://www.consoglobe.com/achat-bio-cher-2846-cg http://www.consoglobe.com/achat-bio-cher-2846-cg
johnchristopher 10y ago
Belgian here. Keep in mind milk price is highly distorted and producers are facing aggressive pricing from their buyers. For example I can buy milk straight from the cow for 80ç by just crossing the street and asking the producer's wife to fill my bottle. Organic milk is around 1.20€ last time I checked, fair milk around 1.1€, brand milk around 80-1.20€ and `cheap` milk is around 60ç.

johnchristopher 10y ago

Keep in mind `bio` is a segment being chased after by established supermarkets. There's is such a thing as mass produced bio products (which are not eco-friendly at all) and lobbying to get more things labelled `bio` to the point that you can see some producers dropping the bio tag and privileging direct sells (it's local and bio, que demande le peuple ?).

Raed667 10y ago
I totally agree with you, the 'bio' tag will not provide much assurance about the product if big names start to manipulate it. I try to buy from local 'marché' however it isn't always convenient if you work full days.