08/10/2022
I completely agree with this. Real food shouldn't be cheap when we consider the workmanship that goes into going from seed to plate. And I so worry about the depletion of our soils for our future generations.
Of course, I'm not ignorant to the fact that many people don't have the resources to afford organic everything. I think that just being aware and making the best choices we can within our own personal limitations; buying local and seasonal where possible; and not giving ourselves too hard a time about the bits we can't do.
I really like Riverford - what they stand for, the quality of their products and the recipes and food wisdom which they generously share. Besides Riverford, I can highly recommend Pingle Produce to anyone local (ish) to Wirksworth. Seasonal, local, organic, affordable, and run by some genuinely lovely souls.
We all just do what we can 🙏
The thing about cheap food is, it's not actually cheap.
The price we pay for our food at the till is, by most measures, roughly half its true cost. We pay for it twice over (many estimate more) in terms of the cost of clearing up the mess that food production, processing and distribution causes.
By that we mean removing pesticides and nitrates from our water supply, soil loss, biodiversity loss, plastic pollution and more.
Arguably, if farmers had to clear up this mess and compensate for these losses, organic food would end up being cheaper than non organic.
One of the biggest costs for organic producers comes from investing in the long term fertility of their soil and health of their farm environment; perhaps something that we all should be valuing more.
So no, organic food isn't cheap. But some is cheaper than others: the organic premium varies according to the food and also according to where and how it is bought.
At Riverford, we go beyond organic. We also want to provide food that is packaged and delivered in a sustainable way. And it is very important to us that everyone gets paid fairly (from co-owners - we are an employee owned business, to other growers). We also want to invest in the future of sustainable farming, by allocating profits to regenerative farming projects, tree planting and more.
So no, we are not cheap. But we are proud to explain why. Our food represents the true cost of producing sustainable, fair, organic food.
* Note: We are very aware that the price of organic is not accessible for many. Now more than ever. We wish this wasn't the case. Good, healthy, sustainable food should be available to all. There are many reasons this isn't the case. And we must keep up the fight to try and change the system. And we will continue to help where we can, through our weekly donations to food banks/charity partnerships like Food in Community.
