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Why I do not pay extra for organic
Fifty years ago, in the infancy of the organic foods movement, organic produce was ugly. It might have had holes made by insects. It might have looked wrinkled and dried out. Certainly no pesticides interfered with Mother Nature’s creation of that produce!
Today, organic produce is pristine. Sometime it is even better looking than its ordinary neighbors in the produce section: plump, perfectly formed, impervious to insect damage.
Why the difference? Pesticides.
It is simply a myth that organic means pesticide-free. See Christie Wilcox, “Myth busting 101: Organic Farming>Conventional Agriculture,” Scientific American, July 18, 2011, https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/httpblogsscientificamericancomscience-sushi20110718mythbusting-101-organic-farming-conventional-agriculture/
Although organic sellers in the U.S. cannot use selected pesticides, they can use so-called “natural” pesticides not otherwise prohibited by law and pesticides specifically approved in regulations. A list of permitted pesticides is found in these federal regulations: 7 CFR 205 (National Organic Program), §§ 205.1 et seq. Examples of specifically permitted substances include chlorine dioxide, copper sulfate, and soluble boron products. Among the “natural” and not otherwise prohibited pesticides is a group of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, which are chemically related to nicotine.
https://citybugs.tamu.edu/factsheets/ipm/what-is-a-neonicotinoid/
Pesticides permitted in organic produce production are not necessarily safer than other pesticides. Copper sulfate may be toxic to bees, according to a study carried out in Brazil. https://entomologytoday.org/2016/04/11/study-shows-leaf-fertilizers-to-be-toxic-to-stingless-bees/ Some neonicotinoids are believed to be toxic to bees. http://beecharmers.org/Pollination2.html
And some wineries in France have given up their organic designation because of concerns over accumulation of copper in the soil.http://www.decanter.com/wine-news/french-winemaker-drops-organic-status-for-better-treatments-289349/
To complicate matters further, imported organic food is not necessarily the same as organic food in the U.S. Organic food produced in other countries may not be regulated by law or may be regulated with different standards. See summary at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_food
Buying organic, then, is buying something whose pesticide residue content you don’t know. In that respect it is no different from buying nonorganic produce in the grocery store.
More importantly, the food supply in the U.S. is safe, making it perfectly reasonable to buy nonorganic produce.
Pesticide levels in produce sold in the U.S. are low, whether produce is organic or not. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is charged with assuring the safety of pesticides used on all foods. https://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/food-and-pesticides The USDA Pesticide Detection Program, conducted every year since 1991, shows, “overall, pesticide residues found on foods tested are at levels below the tolerances established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and pose no safety concern.”
The International Food Information Council Foundation summarizes the safety of our food supply this way:
The United States provides one of the safest food supplies in the world. With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the food, beverage and agricultural industries working together, our food supply is becoming even safer.
http://www.foodinsight.org/A_Consumer_s_Guide_to_Food_Safety_Risks
So, would I pay more for food that is not recognizably better for me and my family? No, I wouldn’t.