Buying Organic Food - affordably

We would love to feed our children and ourselves with food that is healthier than conventionally produced food. We are also growing more concerned about our environment and the welfare of animals.

The trouble is, so the myth goes, it is too expensive. Let me present you with some ideas and facts. They might help you to realise it's possible to buy organic food without breaking the budget.

Buying Organic - Ways of looking at it

The bigger picture shows that we actually pay more for non-organic food than we do for organic. Organic food is produced in a different way to conventionally, intensively farmed produce.

• Organic farmers use crop-rotation and good husbandry (that is ensuring the soil has the right nutrients in the right balance, without using agri-chemicals)
• They also look after the welfare of their animals and feed them organic produce
• Thirdly, they conserve the natural environment and do not disturb local eco-systems. The wildlife is left alone to thrive

This organic way of doing things produces healthier food, healthier animals and a healthier environment. Yes, it costs more to produce this way than the conventional way.

But do we pay less for non-organic food? The answer is an emphatic 'no'. We pay more than once for our mass-produced non-organic food.

• Firstly, we pay at the shop counter
• Secondly, we pay for agricultural subsidies (funding given to conventional producers) through our taxes
• Then, we pay a third time for the horrors produced in the environment by intensive farming (e.g; Mad Cow's Disease or BSE), again through our taxes

The short-term view is of course the immediate reality. We can only budget with the money that we actually have in our purse/wallet. Let's have a look at how we can afford to 'go organic'.

Please click here to see how you can make buying organic food affordable for you.

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