Well, it isn’t really, once you factor in the high cost of pre-processed and highly-packaged foods, tax subsidies to the corporate agricultural industry, the cost to the environment of the usual aggressive farming practices, and the costs to the health of farm workers exposed to toxic chemicals.
But if you compare “fresh” produce (that would be produce that has traveled an average of 1500 miles in the back of an 18-wheeler) at the supermarket to organic produce (picked yesterday) at the local farmers’ market or roadside stand, the price you pay directly to the farmer is going to be a little higher. There are several reasons for this:
Farmers have to comply with a variety of rigorous production, storage, and handling guidelines in order to be certified “organic.” Corporate farms that engage in aggressive farming practices are free to ignore many of those regulations.
Certified organic farms and others using sustainable agricultural methods do not reduce costs and increase yields by spraying chemicals all over their fields. They must weed by hand, and that labor is expensive. They must compensate for lower yields, as some of their crops are lost to insects and animals.
Of course it is also more expensive to raise animals humanely than to keep them in small pens and cages. Pasture raised animals require more space, and that land is expensive. Supplementing their grazing with organic feed is more expensive than simply feeding them the least-expensive non-organic grain available.
The corporate agricultural industry would like to drive independent farmers out of business, partly in order to eliminate the competition, but, more importantly, so that the corporations can buy up those farms--if you’ll pardon the expression--dirt-cheap. Then that land can be sold to developers at huge profits, or used to expand the corporations’ own production. Driving down market prices for fresh produce, and keeping them artificially low (below the actual cost of production), is an excellent way to effectively “starve out” the independent farmers. The industrial food machine then makes up the losses with their high-priced pre-processed and overly packaged foods, an option which is not available to small, independent farmers.
So although it may seem like organic food purchased directly from the farmer is not as cost-effective as shopping at the supermarket, when you take a closer look, you can see that you end up getting what you pay for, and that may be more than you bargained for.