Eating Organic Can Help Reduce the High Cost of Cheap Food

As a farmer and researcher dedicated to a healthier and more sustainable food system, we often are asked how good food can be made cheaper and more affordable. Given the staggering rates of food insecurity in wealthy areas such as San Francisco — which is struggling to meet its 2020 target for eliminating hunger — we understand this interest in making food cheaper.

However, as our country has moved toward a cheap food economy over the past half century, we see that this has only deepened food insecurity challenges for struggling working families, many of whom work in the food system and are hard pressed to feed themselves. So instead of continuing to make food cheaper, we see far more promise in paying the real cost of our meals: so that we’re not starving farmers, food workers, or the planet. This is why we’re both big believers in organic farming.