The Real Cost of Food

When I talk to people about the different food choices I am making now, they almost always ask me about the cost of natural and organic foods. In these tough economic times, it's a legitimate question. We all need to cut costs where we can. However, the answer to this question isn't as simple as you might think.

The prices at the farmers' market are a little higher than at the supermarket. A dozen eggs will run $3 a dozen at the farmers' market and $1.24 at the supermarket. But the farmers' market eggs are natural and organic. A pound of ground beef will cost $3.75 a pound at the farmers' market, and $2.68 a pound at the supermarket. But the farmers' market beef is Angus, grass-fed beef, and given no hormones. When you look for the same quality products at the supermarket, you won't see much of a price difference. The organic cheese I've been buying at the farmers' market is actually less expensive than quality cheese at the grocery store. But the price tag doesn't tell the whole story.

We've been hearing a lot about the health care crisis in the news lately. I believe America is really experiencing a health crisis. Health care is such an issue because we are so unhealthy as a nation. And most of the diseases and disorders that are rapidly appearing are directly related to the food that we eat. There is an old saying that "you can pay the grocer now, or pay the doctor later." Americans seem to be opting to pay the doctor. In 1960, Americans spent 18% of their income on food and 5% on health care. Today we spend 9% of our income on food and 17% on health care. How many E. coli  and salmonella outbreaks have we had in recent years? Those outbreaks are directly linked to our food supply and are caused by industrial food production practices.

And then there are the government subsidies that support the way food is produced in this country. Our government heavily subsidizes the production of corn. Corn is fed to the livestock on the factory farms (whether or not the animals are actually designed to eat corn.) Corn is the source of many additives to our food, including high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin and xanthan gum. Take a the look at the ingredients label of most junk food and you will see corn, in one form or another. And where does the money come from for these subsidies? We, the people, of course. The taxpayers. So, when you look at your supermarket receipt, it doesn't tell you the entire out-of-pocket cost for your food. You need to add the percentage of your taxes that paid for that food.

The environmental costs of industrial food production are high. Toxic runoff from factory farms poison water supplies and the earth. Pesticides are killing and mutating wildlife. The cost of shipping food to the factory farms for the livestock, and shipping food across the country and, in some cases, across the world, are astronomical. It leaves a huge carbon footprint. We can't forget that our health is directly related to the planet's health.

Joel Salatin is the owner and operator of Polyface Farms in Virginia. He is an author, lecturer and advocate for natural and sustainable farming practices. He is also working for transparency and accountability in our nation's food production system. In the documentary Food, Inc., Salatin put it best when he said:

Is cheapness everything that there is? Who wants to buy the cheapest car? We're willing to subsidize the food system to create the 'mystique' of cheap food, when actually it's very expensive food, when you add up the environmental costs, societal costs, health costs. The industrial food is not honest food. It's not priced honestly. It's not produced honestly. It's not processed honestly. There's nothing honest about that food.

In the end, I've come to the conclusion that eating natural, locally-produced food, costs less than commercially-produced food. My family is healthier for it, my environment is healthier, and I'm supporting my local economy.