Who’s to blame?

We all know that recycled products and organic foods cost more in the supermarket. It does seem a little odd since products made from recycled goods, and organic foods arguably have lower production costs due to reduced use of fillers, preservatives, and human capital from farm to factory. So why do these items cost more? Does the price point get set by supply or demand? We all know if a product doesn’t move off the shelf then the price point has to increase to help carry the bottom line.

Shannan and I try to buy organic foods, which often places us into to a debate between two philosophical positions within our lives, budget and conservation. Like the marketing and retailing of the stores, in our case, budget generally wins out as well. That’s not the worst of it. Here is a little nasty trick of the marketplace as it attempts to attract the health conscious buyer. Take a look at the ingredients of cranberry juice. Some brands contain high fructose corn syrup, which does not naturally occur in the berries or in the process of making them into juice. This story gets worse. Some organic options don’t add the sweetener (yea!); however, the product is not really cranberry juice. It’s mostly apple juice (to make it taste sweet) with 10% or less cranberry.

Dang! Why can’t we just buy juice? The answer is, the market bears out what people (us) want. Clearly most folks want their juice to taste sweet, not like actual juice. Shame on us as consumers, and shame on marketers.

Save money. Eat Healthy. If you can’t do them both at once, go for a run.

Tom