Is organic food worth the price?

Harrison Giknavorian
WRTC 103
Professor Fielding
3/15/16

Abstract
The main objective of this paper is to discuss whether organic food is worth the price.
The reason why I decided to research the topic of organic food prices was because of the
controversies surrounding organic food. I also decided to research this topic because itll educate
people to make a decision if spending more money for organic food is actually worth it. The
organic food price issue is important to my peers as well as my professor because they will be
able to decide if it is worth it to pay more money for organic food. It is also important to my
peers and professor because it gives them the opportunity to learn more about a topic that hasnt
thoroughly been researched and presented to the public.

Organic food has been said to contain more nutrients than conventionally grown food
and also provide greater health benefits because it does not use pesticides or any harmful
chemicals. Since it has been speculated that organic food delivers greater health benefits,
produce industries have decided to raise their prices. The price difference in organic food is a
controversial topic that has been argued for many years because there has been no official study
conducted to conclude if organically grown food has greater long term health benefits than
conventionally grown food. The organic food label can be defined as food produced with
approved procedures and without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. The United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) sets these standards and regulates these products. Once they
pass inspections, they have the ability to bear the sign organic seal if 95% of the product
contains organic material (D. Gerszberg, 2013). Figuring out if organic food is worth the price is
important because it could help people save money and also give them an understanding of the
potential risks conventionally grown food can cause.
David Lazarus asserted in the newspaper article Is organic food worth the higher
price? Many experts say no the belief that organic food is not worth the astronomical prices due
to seeing no statistical difference in nutritional value between organically grown food and
conventionally grown food. Lazarus expressed his belief that there is no difference in nutritional
value in organic food compared to conventionally grown food, but believes there is a difference
in the process of growing the product. He also believed that with a change in cultivation styles,
there could be less chemicals used when growing food conventionally. Since there isnt a major
difference in the nutritional value, Lazarus explained to the audience to buy conventionally
grown food because it saves families more money especially if families are in financial burdens
(Lazarus D, 2015).

The scholarly article Is Buying Organic Worth It? by Deborah Gerszberg on the
Columbia University Medical School website introduces the idea that organic food is worth
spending a little extra on some produce, but for others, its best to buy conventionally grown
produce. Gerszberg takes a neutral stand in the argument, while exploring both sides of the
spectrum to give the audience a full understanding of the issue. Gerszberg goes into greater detail
on why one should buy organic food with expressing the health concerns related to
conventionally grown food. While she gives supporting evidence to buy organic food, she ends
her article with examining the financial issues surrounding organic food and articulates that if a
family doesnt have the funds to only buy organic food, they should only buy certain produce
that would have high traces of pesticides if it was grown conventionally (Gerszberg D, 2013).
The author Charlotte Vallaeys wrote an online article Busting the Organic Is
Expensive Myth on Cornucopia to justify that organic produce is better for a person and can
also be cheaper than conventionally grown produce. Vallaeys introduces the argument that
organic produce is cheaper than conventionally grown produce by alluding to her personal
experience with supplying her family with organically grown produce. She explains that in the
supermarket, organic produce will be more expensive, but if one goes to a farmers market, they
could find more affordable prices that would even be cheaper than conventionally grown
produce. She provides the example of her son and daughters lunch price and how its cheaper to
give them organically grown produce instead of a lunchable. Vallaeys heavily fortifies her
argument that organic produce is far more advantageous than conventionally grown food because
of her meetings with farmers who tell her its better than conventionally grown produce (Vallaeys
C, 2013).

The articles Is Organic food worth the higher price? Many experts say no and Is
Buying Organic Worth It? both agree on the foundation that organic food is priced higher than
conventionally grown food. The idea that organic food is more expensive is supported when
David Lazarus stated organic foods and beverages run an average 47% more in price than
conventional alternatives (Lazarus D, 2015) and when Deborah Gerszberg said was more than
five times higher (D. Gerszberg, 2013). Together these viewpoints illustrate the growing issue
found in produce stores. Each author also brings up another similar point in their article to help
the audience understand how organic food differs and how they are similar compared to
conventionally grown food. Lazarus maintains Buying organic does not necessarily mean
there's more health and nutrition benefits, (Lazarus D, 2015) which correlates with Gerszbergs
statement Smith-Spanglers study determined that overall, organic foods are not more nutritious
than conventional foods (D. Gerszberg, 2013). The similarities between quotes indicate that
both authors agree that organic food does not necessarily give more nutritional value than
conventionally grown food.
Although Lazarus and Gerszberg agree that organic foods prices are higher than
conventionally grown food and organic food doesnt necessarily deliver more nutritional value
than conventionally grown food, they take different stands on presenting this information.
Lazarus presents his argument with his biased opinion that organic food isnt worth the cost I
don't think there's a big-enough difference in quality to justify those prices (Lazarus D, 2015).
Unlike Gerszberg who presents all the facts without a biased opinion and leaves the decision up
to the audience If you want to buy organic foods but cash is tight, prioritize your organic
purchases (D. Gerszberg, 2013). The obvious difference in presenting information provides the
audience with the understanding that the topic of high organic food prices is still widely debated

even on the scholarly level. Both articles also differ in techniques used to present facts. Lazarus
presents his facts using quotations because he obtained his information from interviews with
PhD professors who have studied organic food prices "Is it actually better for you?" she said.
"I'd go with no. (Lazarus D, 2015). Lazaruss presentation of facts differs from Gerszbergs
techniques because she is a doctor and presents data and facts directly without quotations found
that pesticide residue exceeded the allowable limits in only three out of 200 studies (D.
Gerszberg, 2013).
Even though the article Is Buying Organic Worth It? by Deborah Gerszberg remains
neutral, it still has points of intersection with Busting the Organic Is Expensive Myth by
Charlotte Vallaeys which explicitly shares that organic food isnt expensive. Both authors allude
to the dangers of chemicals associated with conventional food. Gerszberg shares the dangers
when she says There are two main safety issues regarding food: chemical contamination and
bacterial contamination (D. Gerszberg, 2013) and Vallaeys discloses her opinion on the dangers
when she says to avoid toxic residues and chemical ingredients (Vallaeys C, 2013). While both
authors agree that the chemicals linked to conventional food could be harmful to humans, they
have different ways on presenting their arguments.
Both articles are presented in different styles to appeal to different groups of audiences.
The article Is Buying Organic Worth It? by Deborah Gerszberg is written in a style that
remains neutral to offer the audience the ability to form their own opinion There is widespread
use of low-dose antibiotics on conventional animal farms, but not necessarily to prevent
infections. (D. Gerszberg, 2013). Gerszbergs article is also constructed in a style that appeals to
an audience that is in the scientific field or educated in organic food. Whereas Charlotte
Valaeyss article Busting the Organic Is Expensive Myth is a personal account that appeals

to parents Liam sits in the cart and checks every incoming item for the USDA Organic seal.
Anything without it he sends back to the shelf (Vallaeys C, 2013). The effort to appeal to
parents is utilized because it causes change since parents want the best for their children.
The articles Busting the Organic Is Expensive Myth by Charlotte Vallaeys
and Is Organic food worth the higher price? Many experts say no by David Lazarus both unite
the idea that organically grown food is better than conventionally grown food in regards to
chemical use. Vallaeys shows her opinion when she shares farmer Joel Salatin likes to respond:
Have you priced cancer lately? (Vallaeys C, 2013) which is similar to Lazaruss idea. Lazarus
said That means produce that has been drenched in pesticides, chicken and beef that has been
pumped (Lazarus D, 2015). Both the authors use harmful chemicals as a method to convince the
audience that organic food could be considered a better alternative.
While both articles share one common viewpoint, both articles as a whole are completely
different. When Vallaeys wrote Busting the Organic Is Expensive Myth she made the overall
purpose of the article to debunk any belief that organic food is priced higher than conventionally
grown food to fill a shopping cart with a weeks worth of conventional foods and pay more than
you would for a weeks worth of organic food (Vallaeys C, 2013). Her opinion completely
contrasts Lazaruss article Is Organic food worth the higher price? Many experts say no
because his viewpoint states that organic food isnt worth the drastic variation in price believed
that prices charged for organic foods reflect the true cost of bringing them to market (Lazarus
D, 2015). The difference in articles shows both authors have completely different viewpoints on
the situation. The articles also differ in styles used to present their ideas. Vallaeys uses her family
as an example and shows how it has impacted her family With two young sons (Liam is 5 and
Kai is 3), I buy only organic food for my family (Vallaeys C, 2013), while Lazarus uses

interviews with scholars to present his argument "It's a little fishy," said Adam Aghajani, 40
(Lazarus D, 2015). Since both authors take opposite viewpoints, the message behind each article
is different which shows how different each article is.
The article Is Organic food worth the higher price? Many experts say no by David
Lazarus presents strong ideas about differences in nutritional facts and shares his opinion on why
he doesnt believe organic food is worth the extra cost. The article has many strengths, beginning
with using facts and statistics. He also utilizes quotations to support his argument throughout the
article. On the other hand, he doesnt present any ideas regarding why organic food might be
worth the high price. Instead, he just focuses on his belief that organic food is too expensive.
Is Buying Organic Worth It? by Deborah Gerszberg utilizes a neutral standing
throughout the entire article to help the audience formulate their opinion. Maintaining a neutral
viewpoint also helps Gerszberg more credible because she isnt forcing an opinion on the
audience. She also uses facts gathered from her personal studies to help support the article.
However, Gerszberg doesnt address the disadvantages to paying a premium for organic food.
Since she doesnt talk about this, she fails to address the other side to the story which hinders the
audiences ability to make an accurate decision.
Busting the Organic Is Expensive Myth by Charlotte Vallaeys uses family as the
central theme to convey her opinion on the organic food prices issue. She specifically utilizes
pathos to evoke a sense of emotion from the dangers of conventionally grown food by alluding to
her children. This strength helps solidify her argument because the audience wants to prevent
anything form happening to their family. On the other hand, Vallaeys only uses her opinion on
the issue, she doesnt consult a scholar about the issue either. Not consulting a scholar limits her

article which prevents her article from being effective. This also makes her argument one
dimensional which inhibits the authors ability to prove her point.
After researching this controversial issue, Ive come to the conclusion that organic food is
worth the price for certain produce, such as meat or dairy products. This is because they have the
most chemicals put inside of them. I would still buy conventionally grown food but specific
types that have minimal chemicals put on them such as some vegetables or fruits. Since
researching this topic extensively, Ive come to the understanding that this controversial issue
still needs more research and studies.

References:
Lazarus, D. (2015, May 19). Is organic food worth the higher price? Many experts say
no. Retrieved March 14, 2016, from http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus20150519-column.html
Gerszberg, D. (2013). Is Buying Organic Worth It? - Columbia University Medical
Center. Retrieved March 14, 2016, from
http://newsroom.cumc.columbia.edu/blog/2013/05/31/organic-or-not/
Vallaeys, C. (2013, October 23). Busting the "Organic Is Expensive" Myth. Retrieved
March 15, 2016, from http://www.cornucopia.org/2013/10/busting-organic-expensivemyth/