In growth terms, organic is now outperforming the non-organic grocery market. Photograph: Richard Drury/Getty Images

So much for the view that organic food is just a navel-gazing lifestyle preoccupation for the neurotic rich. The latest UK market figures show that sales for organic produce are booming at their strongest in a decade with a 15% hike last year at Tesco alone.

In growth terms, organic is now outperforming the non-organic grocery market, contradicting cynics who said that at the first whiff of austerity we would ditch high-minded concerns about animal welfare, pesticides and the planet, and join the cheap food scrum.

In anticipation, UK supermarkets cut back on shelf space allotted to organic food to compete with German discount chains. But organic continued to thrive from independent retailers, home-delivery schemes, farm shops and in restaurants. Thoughtful chefs increasingly give organic a big thumbs-up; sales to caterers also shot up by 15% last year. And guess what? Aldi and Lidl shoppers also prefer not to eat pesticide residues or meat from GM-fed livestock that have never seen a green field.

Organic loyalists have developed a shopping strategy that makes organic food accessible, even if youre on a tight budget: organic fruit, vegetables and herbs bought from growers, or at farmers markets, are regularly cheaper than the conventional equivalent from supermarkets, which routinely profiteer on fruit and veg. Equally, never make the mistake of popping into your local small-format supermarket for organic eggs because you will pay around 2.49 for six, as opposed to the wholefood store/market/box scheme price of 1.65-1.99.

In the dry goods department (staples such as flour, oats, rice and peanut butter), the price differential between buying organic and non-organic is often slim. Once again, organic can actually be cheaper, particularly if minimally packaged in a wholefood shop. Happily, organic chocolate costs the same as good-quality non-organic.

There is excellent British beef and lamb from non-organic animals that have had a decent life, so there is less reason to pay a premium for organic red meat. Organic poultry and pork are always significantly more expensive than non-organic 12 as opposed to 3 for a chicken but free-ranging, organic pigs and poultry are reared in a measurably more humane way and usually taste discernibly better. Knowing this, you might decide to eat poultry and pork less, but stick with organic.

Organic milk and yogurt are more expensive than supermarket equivalent economy lines, but not necessarily than their mid-range or premium ones, and the cows are happier: no zero grazing allowed.

Perhaps the trick is to be pro-organic without making a religion out of it. Buy organic in the categories that matter most to you, but regularly test any presumption that it is costing you more. You could get a pleasant surprise.

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How to surf the organic food boom on the cheap | Life and style | The ... - The Guardian