There is a growing trend in the demand for organic food in the United States, but is it due to the benefits of organic farming, or is it just a marketing ploy on the part of the agricultural sector to increase revenue? Try to imagine yourself in your favorite supermarket picking tomatoes for homemade pasta sauce. See organic tomatoes for $1.99/lb and local non-organic tomatoes for $0.99/lb. The $1 price difference doesn't seem like too much to pay to support a small, local farm that produces more nutritious and healthier organic food, and how can you put a price on health? These apparent reasons for choosing organic food are the same reasons that should lead people to choose otherwise. Non-organic food is the best choice as it is cheap, locally grown, nutritious and safe. The price of organic food is commonly considered higher than conventional non-organic food because it requires more labor and is grown by small farms. . In contrast, most organic foods grown today mimic the methods used by conventional agriculture and are mostly produced on a large scale. Part of the excessively high price of organic foods is actually due to supply and demand. US consumers are willing to pay exorbitant prices for organic food, and farms are happy to oblige. Furthermore, the amount of product per acre of land is significantly lower for organic farms and consequently causes further increase in costs. Low soil nutrient content due to lack of modern fertilizers, necessary crop rotation and smaller sized produce tend to make organic food more expensive, just like a shirt made by hand on a loom with hand-spun cotton it would be more expensive than a handmade one. from today's equity efficient...... middle of paper ....... Now imagine yourself back at the supermarket, but this time deciding between a locally grown, conventional, and non-organic tomato for $1.99 /lb or an organic tomato, most likely grown tens of thousands of miles away in a foreign country, for the same price. Since price is no longer a factor (nor should it be in an ideal situation), when deciding which to buy, consider that organic food does not provide any additional nutrition, nor does it even mean pesticide-free and safe. The only real reason to buy produce outside of the traditional farming system should be for fresh, local produce that supports small, local farms, regardless of farming methods. There is no apparent reason to believe that organic farming has any advantages over conventional methods which have made food plentiful, cheap, nutritious and safe through the use of modern technology..