The Organic Foods Scam
Byron Caplan wants to know why the organic foods market is growing by leaps and bounds even though it charges a 30% to 50% price premium and there is no evidence that it does any good:
Major literature reviews in 2009, 2003, and 2002 report that (a) there’s little solid evidence about the health benefits of organics, and (b) existing evidence reveals little health benefit of organics.
Caplan wonders how this is consistent with a belief in the rationality of markets and surmises that this market may attract a special type of consumer:
This is hardly surprising given the emotional, credulous cognitive style of organic consumers. Can you imagine the typical “all-natural” fan changing his mind in response to peer-reviewed nutritional research? That’s just not how they roll.
My own explanation: the market responds to people’s fantasies and it does a very good job of doing so.
I don’t know why this is an issue, people are irrational – Bryan of all people should know this. Fear makes people very irrational. Look at the money on terrorism versus car safety, people will buy a car without side curtain airbags to save a $1000, but will gladly shell out a $1000 to the government to save them from terrorists – it makes absolutely no sense. As a cyclist, I also see people spend THOUSANDS to buy the lightest bike possible, even though they are 20 pounds over weight – I always get a good chuckle out of this one. I could go on and on, but people doing stupid things is not really that mystifying.
Ha, excellent post. I doubt the median fan of organics delve into the peer-reviewed research to determine the benefits.
I was at a grocery store the other day and they had a natural eggplant for one price, which looked okay, a little bruised in some places, but not too bad. And then nexted to it they had a genetically modified eggplant that was twice the size, and a third of the price! Even better, it looked perfectly healthy and in even better shape than the natural ones! An easy choice for me.
You see the same thing with vaccinations. Otherwise rational educated people believing the fantasy put forth by a disgraced doctor and a former playboy playmate over decades of scientific knowledge.
On the other hand, I believe there is legitimate research showing organic animal products are indeed better for you, well, “organic” is bit of a slippery label. Naturally raised grass feed beef has a healthier (omega 3) fat content in the meat. Free range chickens that are fed a natural forage produce healthier eggs and meat. Wild caught (functionally organic) salmon are much healthier for you than farmed ones where they have to inject dye to create the orange color.
But plants, right… The tomato doesn’t care if the nitrogen in its soil is from manure or ammonium nitrate. Using an organic chemical pesticide vs. a synthetic chemical pesticide isn’t going to make it more or less healthier for you. You can vote with your dollars and vote in favor of farms using less pesticides if you feel they harm bees or whatever, which is what many people do.
There is also research showing heirloom or certain varieties of plants, more often grown by organic farmer or small farmers, are healthier. For decades/centuries plants were selected for things like size, shelf life, resistance to bruising, all the things that make them attractive on the shelf. They weren’t selected for nutrient content or flavor. For instance small low bush (wild) blueberries have a higher nutrition content than cultivated large high bush blueberries (which are still good for you). These vegetables aren’t healthier because they are grown organically, it is the genetics of the plant.
GMO is another area though were so many, I’m going to call them hippies, just ignore science. They should in fact be cheering genetic engineering as it can create plants that need fewer pesticides or other treatments. It is completely irrational. Humans have been selectively breeding plants for thousands of years, modern science is just able to speed up the process we have been doing anyways. Imagine if brussels sprouts didn’t exist, and some genetic engineer took a cabbage plant and turned it into brussels sprouts. People would go crazy at the “frankenfood” he created, call it unnatural…. and yet humans did exact that over the past few thousand years. Genetic engineering can quite literally save the world through crop science, we shouldn’t be fighting it.
Does Starbucks serve organic coffee?
This piece misses that some people choose organic foods to reduce their exposure to pesticides and they realize that the organic fruits and vegetables are not more nutritional.
http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214
The Dirty Dozen listed on the link above has the fruits and vegetables that maintain the highest pesticide residue. Do I think there is a pesticide link to cancer? Sure!!!
@ Chris – I beg to differ on vaccinations. The older vaccinations are probably mostly safe, but it’s some of the more recent ones that people have questions about. More research needs to be done on them, period. I don’t believe that the parents who are opting their kids out are crazy.
As for organics, they might be a little bit overpriced, but they are probably are least a little bit better for most people.
The first time in a while I’ve tried Google for results and got a sensible site. Thankyou!