U.S. organic food sales for 2003 topped $13 billion, according
to the Organic Trade Association ““ up from just under $1
billion in 1990.
Fifty-four percent of Americans have tried organic foods, and 29
percent said they are now consuming more organic foods than in the
past, reported a study sponsored by Whole Foods Market.
But despite the growth in markets for organic products,
relatively few organic consumers are university students.
It is not that university students are ecologically insensitive.
On the contrary, many are probably very health conscious and
environmentally aware.
It is a tight budget that keeps many students from buying
organic goods, which tend to be more expensive than non-organic
products.
There are signs, however, that college students are beginning to
join the ranks of organic consumers ““ especially when they
realize that an organic lifestyle does not have to be a whole-mind,
whole-body, whole-pocketbook experience.
Just last year, Whole Foods Market came to Westwood, bringing
with it an array of organic options. Roughly 70 percent of the
items they carry are organic.
Students were initially hesitant to shop at Whole Foods because
they viewed it as too expensive, said store team leader Dave
Gonzalez.
“Now students have realized that our pricing is
competitive, and they have accepted us,” he added.
“We are seeing more and more student shoppers. Their
numbers are growing on a weekly basis.”
Gonzalez said it is evident when UCLA students are on break,
referring to the large number of student customers who are missing
from the store during vacations.
Gonzalez has found that many student customers are already
familiar with the organic products that Whole Foods carries. He
speculated that many of these students were brought up in a healthy
environment where natural foods were promoted.
Ashley Waxman, a first-year pre-communication studies student,
said when she shops for groceries, she primarily goes by what she
likes, whether or not it is organic.
“I would rather buy a really good apple than one that has
just been thrown in a box, even if it is more expensive,” she
said, noting that organic food is of better quality.
While she does not think that organic food is
“over-the-top expensive,” she said she is not very
aware of cost, as her parents are the ones paying for her food
purchases.
Organic food is typically more expensive than non-organic food
because it is produced without the use of chemicals, hormones or
other unnatural substances.
Chemicals and hormones usually help speed up the growth process,
so without them, organic foods take longer to grow.
Organic food production is less taxing to the environment,
however.
“Organic, not conventional foods, are a bargain when all
their effects on human and environmental health are factored
in,” said Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the
Organic Trade Association, in a press release on the Whole Foods
Web site
“Organic food prices represent the true cost of
production. Conventional prices do not. They fail to incorporate
$10 billion a year in externalities, the costs passed on to society
at large,” she added.
Still, student shoppers are not always willing and able to pay
the up front costs of organic products.
Though first-year musicology student Dani Walker enjoys health
food and prefers to shop at health food stores, she does not
necessarily choose organic items.
Price is most often the deciding factor, she said.
As the price of organic and non-organic goods gradually levels
off, consumers like Walker may choose organic options.
Gonzalez said she believes that eventually natural foods will
surpass commercial foods in importance.
Major companies including Kraft, Kellogg, Heinz and General
Mills have purchased organic brands. In some cases they are even
extending their mainstream products and brands to include organic
materials at similar costs.
“A lot of conventional stores have developed full organic
sections and the demand for organic continues to grow,”
Gonzalez said.
With increased demand, he predicted organic prices will fall
because farmers will bring in larger harvests and efficiency will
increase.
A good deal on great food might be an offer that college
students cannot resist.
Recently, even the UCLA dining halls have bought organic items
because they were a bargain.
Organic bananas were purchased because they came out to be less
expensive than the regular ones, said Charles Wilcots, assistant
director of dining services.
The dining halls operate on a bid system, where they put in a
request for food items and purchase them from the suppliers that
offer the lowest bid.
“We are trying to cut down the costs for residents,”
Wilcots said, adding that they would continue to buy the organic
bananas for as long as they were the least costly bananas for
sale.
While the relatively cheaper organic bananas seem to be an
exception rather than the norm, it appears that the price of
organic products as a whole is on the decline.