During the past two weeks I’ve been conducting an experiment involving organic food.

Whenever I’ve heard people laud the benefits of organic food I’ve listened with some suspicion as they marvel over the difference in flavor between the stuff supposedly pumped full of chemicals, hormones and other scientific abominations and the pristine versions free scientific alteration.

It is much easier and cheaper than I expected to eat organic foods, but the flavor difference seems to apply to only certain items. In the interest of full disclosure, most of the organic food I’ve eaten came from a supermarket. I apologize to any true organic food connoisseurs who are appalled by this transgression.

My first purchases in this experiment were at a health food store which happens to be very near the house I spent my high school years in, but didn’t know of until recently.

Initially my suspicion regarding price appeared to be confirmed as I walked the aisles and noticed small packages of organic snacks which cost about as much as a Starbucks beverage. I thought of what Bill Maher once said in an interview with Larry King.

While discussing his diet of organic food he said, “An organic beet can cost $4. So can Starbucks.”

Personally, I much prefer reading “The New York Times” while sipping an iced venti non-fat, no-whip mocha rather than chomping on an organic beet. The iced mocha also fits better beside me in the cup holder as I drive around listening to Lady Gaga. Regardless, I find Maher to be a very astute political commentator and a laugh-until-I-can’t-breath comedian, so I decided to not let this deter me and headed to the produce section. I found a narrower selection than at a larger store, but was pleasantly surprised by the prices. For the record, the beets were considerably less than $4 and I left with a tomato, a kiwi, hearts of romaine lettuce and a granny smith apple. To be really adventurous, I picked up a raw food bar for a snack. At a price of just over $2 and at a size equivalent to approximately two energy bars, this is a little steep, but it tasted good and is supposedly good for the body. I made a salad with the romaine, tomato and cheated by putting some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on top. The cheese was most likely not organic, but it is just way too delicious. The flavor of the salad did not impress me any more than a nonorganic version does, but any dinner involving romaine is a good one.

Depending on which foods one buys, the price difference between organic and inorganic foods is surprisingly negligible, but the taste isn’t always better.

Kiwi is sometimes less expensive in the organic form, yet only by a couple of cents. The flavor difference is unnoticeable, yet eating an organic strawberry is like eating one for the first time, sort of like the difference between watching a great movie on TV and then seeing it in a theater. Organic blueberries show the largest gap in price, with a price at about three times the nonorganic version.

Not keeping my experiment only to fruits and vegetables, I decided to check the availability of organic eggs and found packages of cage-free eggs. These are all laid by uncaged hens. The hens are fed a vegetarian diet and consume no animal fat or animal by-products, which seems beneficial, but I needed to determine whether there is any noticeable flavor difference. My first test included hard-boiled eggs and I can say the flavor is more robust than a typical egg, which I like. I later made a scramble with some (nonorganic) green onions and diced organic tomato and it tasted delicious, although on par with a typical scramble using regular eggs. Based on the flavor, price and freedom of the hens, I’ll continue buying these eggs. There’s even a cute little illustration on the egg carton showing some uncaged hens resting comfortably on piles of hay and roaming freely about the barn, munching on a snack found on the ground. I suppose I like the idea of these hens having a comfortable life being able to be ambulatory instead of stuffed into a cell like Lindsay Lohan.

I’ve yet to experiment with organic beef, but an article in “Vogue” indicates it’s important to watch for the USDA certified-organic label. This is because natural, grass-fed or free-range beef, while healthier in other aspects than regular beef, may still contain antibiotics. Studies on the matter are leading researchers to believe the antibiotics given to cattle are causing mutation of bacteria and viruses into drug-resistant forms, which means humans would be more prone to illness and even death, since the antibiotics they would ordinarily take may be ineffective.

Based on my own research, this organic food diet is a pleasant improvement. My fridge is stocked with tasty fruits and vegetables (beside a hefty assortment of soda) and I feel better about what I’m putting in my body. While I plan on continuing with organic foods, I merely will include it in a balanced diet, rather than letting it dominate my eating habits. It’s not as if I’m going to cease indulging in my favorite meals.

After all, even Maher admits to having about two burgers a year.