If you consider it important to eat organic food, they you should know a few tricks about getting the costs down. One thing you can be almost sure of is that costs will continue to drop as sustainable farming practices become a national and even worldwide priority. The more humanity begins to realize it can’t continue to squeeze the earth by the throat by flooding it with insecticides and chemical fertilizers, grow monstrously-sized vegetables and expect kids to enjoy them, organic food will become more mainstream, and therefore cheaper.
Understand that it’s not the material cost of organic food that makes it more expensive. If anything, the natural methods they employ require fewer materials and cheaper ones at that. What makes it more expensive these days is simply the fact that it’s not as mass produced. That will soon change, when the organic food industry hits a tipping point. You’ll help that happen faster by increasing demand.
For now, consider these cost-cutting measures.
Do it yourself organic. Take something like humus for example. It’s made out of chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and water. You can either buy organic ready-made humus, eat it and it’s gone. Or you can buy organic chickpeas, which, if bought raw, last practically forever. Add some organic olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic. Then you have the material for many humus servings. Find a good recipe, follow it. Freeze the leftovers, thaw them out when you want them again. They don’t last long in the fridge, because there are no chemicals that prevent bacterial growth. This is a good thing. And you’re guaranteed to pay less than even ready made conventional humus.
Stock Up. Stock up on your favorite items when they go on sale. Ever notice how some items go on sale exactly when you don’t “need them right now?” If they don’t go bad, buy a whole bunch of them anyway. Back to the humus paradigm. If chickpeas are suddenly on sale because the grocery manager is clearing room for the chic Fall humus collection, consider buying a whole bunch even though you don’t need them. They’ll cut costs later. You’re making a good investment. Don’t do this with yogurt. It won’t work well, and you’ll have bad yogurt on your hands. If you like eating sour yogurt, you can go for it and let us know. Some people do that. Remember that yogurt is already milk gone bad, so what’s the difference if they yogurt itself turns?
Eat the sour yogurt. HA! I kid, but if you’re alright with eating stuff past the expiration date, then buy all means, have a ball. Just don’t force it on your guests.
Buy in Bulk. Duh.
Cut Coupons. Even billionaires do this because they want to feel like they’re still getting a good deal. You should do it, too. It’s like a game.
Farmer’s Markets! These guys usually haven’t even spent the money to get government certified approval. But chances are, they’re even better, since government approval only requires 95% organic material. They’re cheaper, better, and tastier than packaged organic foods.
Be Selective. Find out what the most contaminated conventional foods are, and only buy organic for those. Not everything grown conventionally will contaminate your spleen, or other organs.
Eat Less Food. If you’re on a diet anyway, eat less. It’ll save