Economics of Organic Food

General belief and rightly so, people think organic is expensive. They are not wrong. But think it this way....Anything that is pure, anything that takes detailed care in growing and processing, anything that is produced in a clean and hygienic environment, and anything that is not adulterated will be cost more and hence end user price will be higher.

Let me take the case of Black Mustard Oil. Mustard oil seeds come at arount Rs 60/- per kg. In a pure Kachchi Ghani it takes about 4 kg of mustard oil seeds to make 1 kg of organic balck mustard oil. This typically is about 240/- just for the seeds. Add the cost of electricity, labor, transportation, margins for producer, distributor and retailer....there is no way pure mustard oil can be sold at prevalent price available in stores. So how do they afford lower prices....well it is a sensitive topic but I am sure you can understand how cheaper products can be made.

Besides the cost of food, there is one cost that usally consumers ignore. That cost is effect of adulterated oils on your health. We end up oaying for higher insurance to cover for more complicated diseases. We end up spending lacs of rupees in treatment. Needless to mention the collateral cost borne by immediate family.

So all this boils down to spending a little extra but live a healthy and fulfilling life. Our study finds that eating pure increases your grocery budget just by about 10-15%.