Seems as though everyone is talking about organic food prices these days, even actors from 500 years ago. I was recently at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, where two jesters were entertaining the crowd with word games.

Jester One: “What pops to mind when I say the word ‘organic’?”

Jester Two: “Organic? Hmm. ‘Carbon-based life-form‘. How about you?”

Jester One: “That one’s easy. ‘Overpriced food.'”

The crowd got a good chuckle out of this, and why wouldn’t they? A recent poll by NPR confirms that the majority of Americans believe that organic food is “too expensive.” But in a present-day culture where less than 2% of the country now farms for a living (including a 4% decline in farmers between 2007 and 2012), this punchline brought to mind an even older joke from satirist Oscar Wilde:

Actor One: “What is a cynic?”

Actor Two: “A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.”

From Priceline to Groupon to eBay, there’s no arguing that we’re a culture obsessed with paying less for more. Food is no exception, and while we could cite dozens of reports that point toward growing equilibrium between organic and conventional food prices (for example, here), this recent study by the USDA neatly sums up our prevailing attitude regarding food and money. Turns out that price, more than any other variable, is the chief motivator for many when it comes to grocery shopping decisions.

Yet, at the peril of becoming a nation of food-price cynics, we have discounted the lasting value of fresh, nutritious and yes, even organic food, opting instead for cheaper, sugary processed foods–and the consequences have been staggeringly tragic. As an illustration, these two charts from the CDC demonstrate the rise of obesity and type-2 diabetes over the past two decades, trend lines that show no signs of relenting.