Clean eating is important to many Americans, and that often goes beyond fruits and veggies. The quality of those products matters, too.

However, buying organic can be much more costly than buying conventional — particularly as grocery prices continue to rise. In fact, the latest LendingTree study found that organic produce costs an average of 52.6% more than conventional produce.

…

“We’ve come to expect organic fruits and veggies to cost more, but paying a 50.0% premium can be pretty hard to swallow,” says Matt Schulz, LendingTree chief consumer finance analyst and author of “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How to Take Control of Your Financial Life.” “When stubborn inflation is making everything else more costly and shrinking people’s financial wiggle room, paying extra for fruits and vegetables may prove a bridge too far.”

…

That discrepancy is largest for iceberg lettuce, with consumers paying 179.3% more for the organic version. While conventional iceberg lettuce costs $1.21, organic lettuce costs $3.38.

The next biggest discrepancy is with Brussels sprouts, with a pound of conventional Brussels sprouts costing $2.20 and a pound of organic Brussels sprouts costing $4.99 — a difference of 126.8%.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here