Modern Farming runs a piece on organic farming. I find it illogical:
One issue is price. On average, organic food costs 20 percent more than conventionally produced food. Even hardcore organic shoppers like me sometimes bypass it due to cost.
That's one paragraph. The author goes on to talk about the need for more and more organic farmers, and a larger acreage, ending in a push to dedicate a percentage of USDA farm programs to organic farms.
I think this is ignoring market signals. The market is saying that organic food is more costly. Is organic making inroads despite its higher cost? Certainly it's increased since the 1990 farm bill which directed USDA to establish standards for "organic". But that's 30 years ago. I don't think the market is saying the advantages and virtues of organic are sufficient to drive a massive surge in organic production. (IMO what will drive expansion is a continuing rise in American living standards and incomes--"organic" is a status symbol, a signifier of virtue, a feeder into one's ego and self-image.)
Conceivably added subsidies for organic farming could boost the share of the market, but I think they would be expensive.
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