"Organic" Farming and the True Cost of Food-A Small Farmers Perspective

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75. Organic Food is healthier, but almost unaffordable.

I switched my family to organic food 6 years ago when I realized that our food was making us sick. I now make every meal from scratch at home with organic whole foods purchased from Whole Foods. I don't shop around because it is time-consuming enough to make 3 meals and 2 snacks for 2 adults and 2 teenagers without adding a long-distance drive to a farmer's market to my schedule.

Our family saves money directly from lower health costs because of how we eat. We lost 115# collectively, lowered our cholesterol, resolved fibromyalgia, joint pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, and gastric reflux. We have one monthly prescription for thyroid meds ($5/ month). We rarely get sick anymore. This is a real cost savings for now and in the future. I believe we can look forward to a long and healthy life.

The problem is that the food is so expensive.

Our food costs between $100 and $150 a day. That's 4 people (albeit 2 teenage boys with hollow legs). We can only afford one car. We have not exchanged Christmas gifts in years. We took one vacation since 2005. My clothes are old and out-of-style. All our money goes to high quality food (fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, meats, oils). Staying well has had to become our priority. Whole Foods is really Whole Paycheck for us. I'm not kidding.

I don't blame the organic farmer for these prices. I blame food policies and regulations that are written by big agriculture to favor factory farming and monocultures. Let's restructure our food subsidies to reflect a commitment to health. If I buy a whole food, it cost X. When you process it into a cereal, a candy, or a pastry, it should cost more. Sustainable agriculture and healthy practices should be subsidized. This just makes sense.

Right now, the cost of our food is unsustainable. The only way for our family cut costs would be to move on to an organic farm and eat what we grow. Maybe BronxBoy could use some help on his farm.