A study commissioned by the Guardian reveals that spending on organic food has dropped some 20% this year. This is probably due to the rising cost of living and stagnating economy, making organics a luxury. Read the article here: Shoppers lose their taste for organic food.
I try to spend a portion of my weekly grocery money on organics. I can’t say I reach anywhere near 100%, but we probably get up to 40% organic in this household. It is expensive, and the margin of difference can be anywhere from twice the price upwards. Organic tomatoes were selling this week @ 2euro/kilo while pesticide tomatoes sell for 1 - 1.20euro/kilo. However, given that organically grown food has significantly higher levels of beneficial phytonutrients (such as anti-oxidants), you actually recoup the extra spend in the quality of the product. Here’s an example study of conventional blueberries vs organic blueberries: Fruit Quality, Antioxidant Capacity, and Flavonoid Content of Organically and Conventionally Grown Blueberries. The abstract states:
Results from this study showed that blueberry fruit grown from organic culture yielded significantly higher sugars (fructose and glucose), malic acid, total phenolics, total anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity (ORAC) than fruit from the conventional culture.
Remember people to be the change you want to see. If you believe in organic agriculture, spend your dollars/euros/pounds on organic agriculture. Only increased demand will bring reduced prices.