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I'm not yet convinced organic is more expensive. I mean clearly all the products currently on the market are. But that's because they're from small production

I'm not yet convinced organic is more expensive. I mean clearly all the products currently on the market are. But that's because they're from small production or the very few that aren't can still get away with charging that much, so they'll charge that much. But I think the large scale ago biz sort of backed into industrialized farming. When pesticides were still new and everything was susceptible to them, they worked like magic. But over time, pests have become resistant, soils have started to form hard pan, affluent consumers are turning away. What would happen if you practiced organic farming on a grand scale? Would it still be much more expensive or just marginally more expensive?

ajkirwin 17y ago
Actually, a lot of organic produce comes from large farms, run by big companies. Because they saw profit in it, so moved into the market. The problem is that fruits and vegetables are smaller, they get affected by pests and diseases more frequently, decreasing yields. They take up more time and more space in fields. This means that the price has to be jacked up, unfortunately.
jacoblyles 17y ago
On the other hand, I would think that one of the reasons that modern organic products are so inexpensive is because of easy substitution with plentiful, non-organic alternatives. If food production were to become all-organic, I would think the resulting shrinking supply would make food much more expensive. I'm not an expert, but I would estimate that there's at least one order of magnitude difference in yield per acre between the much maligned "factory farming" and less dense production methods. If there is only one order of magnitude, that's the difference between almost everyone being able to afford meat, and almost nobody. The grandparent commenter fails to address possible reasonable objections to his strident opinion. I'm assuming it's easier to heap sarcasm upon an already disfavored group - big corporations - and reap the resulting karma.
- biohacker42 17y ago
  That's what I used to think but then I read a study, and now I can't track it down, about apple farms in England. The conclusion was that when you do organic right you end up with just marginally higher costs and the same yields. I think doing organic right involved extensive soil preparation and complex natural pest control, and using the same high yield apple varieties. But that was just one study, about apples in England, and I can't even track it down now.
  - asdlfj2sd 17y ago
    Perhaps it's this: http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_VSRJQG http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E...

ajkirwin 17y ago

Actually, a lot of organic produce comes from large farms, run by big companies. Because they saw profit in it, so moved into the market. The problem is that fruits and vegetables are smaller, they get affected by pests and diseases more frequently, decreasing yields. They take up more time and more space in fields. This means that the price has to be jacked up, unfortunately.

jacoblyles 17y ago

On the other hand, I would think that one of the reasons that modern organic products are so inexpensive is because of easy substitution with plentiful, non-organic alternatives. If food production were to become all-organic, I would think the resulting shrinking supply would make food much more expensive. I'm not an expert, but I would estimate that there's at least one order of magnitude difference in yield per acre between the much maligned "factory farming" and less dense production methods. If there is only one order of magnitude, that's the difference between almost everyone being able to afford meat, and almost nobody. The grandparent commenter fails to address possible reasonable objections to his strident opinion. I'm assuming it's easier to heap sarcasm upon an already disfavored group - big corporations - and reap the resulting karma.

biohacker42 17y ago
That's what I used to think but then I read a study, and now I can't track it down, about apple farms in England. The conclusion was that when you do organic right you end up with just marginally higher costs and the same yields. I think doing organic right involved extensive soil preparation and complex natural pest control, and using the same high yield apple varieties. But that was just one study, about apples in England, and I can't even track it down now.
- asdlfj2sd 17y ago
  Perhaps it's this: http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_VSRJQG http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E...