Why Such A Premium On Organic Food?

[sandyRoe]

Tescos had no walnuts so I went to a nearby wholefood shop and bought some organic ones there. 200 grammes cost £4.95, a lot more than I'd have paid in Tescos but their product wouldn't have been organic. I know there's economies of scale in a big supermarket which would go to explain why their products are cheaper but, apart from that, why are they so much cheaper?

[dannyk13]

More expensive to produce
http://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/oa-faq5/en/

[EcclesCake]

I'd take a guess that to prepare the ground and grow organic walnut trees to fruiting maturity is a long process hence the hefty price tag.

[Mrsspagnoli57]

I expect that small businesses would quote the overheads etc that a huge concern like Tesco can easily soak up. However as to the exorbitant cost of organic food it still seems to me that there is something of a snob value attached to it in the same way that some people pay over the odds for fresh fruit and veg at M&S. Does it really taste better?- no. Does it sound good to say I only eat organic? to many yes.

[EcclesCake]

Many organic vegetables do taste better because they are not grown from varieties that are all about yield.

[mikey4444]

Because some people are daft enough to pay over the odds, thats why Sandy !

[zebo]

Generally, the more processing goes into food, eg flour for bread, the cheaper the product! Surely, if the flour has not undergone a load of processes, the bread should be cheaper.

[Old_Geezer]

Large upfront costs to getting organic status, and retaining it. Plus a bit of charging what the market will bear. But if you want to minimise the amount of chemicals sprayed onto your food, it's what it presently costs you.

[gingejbee]

...and fresh organic produce spoils a lot quicker than non-organic....more waste so higher cost.