Alexann Brown

English Composition 100

Assignment #3 I-Search Paper
12/16/2014

Organic Life for a College Student

When you think of the word organic, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? I
know I think about something that is pure, healthy, and has its natural ingredients in it. In the
food that we eat today, a lot of things are labeled with natural perseverance but actually isnt as
healthy for you because everything that is in it isnt made naturally. After watching the movie
Food Inc, it changed my perspective on the food industry and what types of food that we are
putting into our bodies. In the movie they went over a lot of topics in the food industry that most
people are not aware of whats going on. For instance, they gave us an inside look of what the
chicken houses look like and how the chickens are being grown. The chickens are being fed
medicine that makes them grow at rapid speeds which makes it difficult for the chicken's to
growth properly, walk, and even sometimes are born with birth defects. Not only is chicken
becoming a dangerous meat to eat, but so is beef. Barbara Kowalcyk and her mother Patricia are
both Food Safety Advocates and speak on the issues on the food industry. Barbara shares the
story of her losing her son due to contracted E Coli from a burger she had bought from the store

and the meat had E Coli in it. To lose a love one due to the irresponsible systems we have in the
food industry is not only disturbing but also heartbreaking.
In the movie they also had shown the side of organic farmer Joel Salatin perspective on the food
industry. Organic farmers animals have natural fertilization rather than how food industries
factories feed their cows and animals corn which isn't good for the animals. In the film, you
could see how the cows in the factories were mistreated and looked unhealthy while the cows on
the organic farm seemed healthy and at their normal sizes.
Overall, after getting an insight look on the food industry and seeing how foods are being
made and how animals are being treated it got me thinking. Can I as a college student be able
to afford to eat organically? So I decided to do a one week experiment to see if I could afford
to eat organically based on my budget I made for myself.
As long with being a college student, Im also a part-time employee at the farmers
market. Working roughly around 30-35 hours per week, I also have other responsibilities such as
paying my car insurance which is around $240.00 a month, my phone bill which is $70.00 a
month and other expenses such as buying gas, food, clothes, etc. With all things being
considered, I set a budget of $70.00 for the week. So for the first day of my experiment, I
decided to go a little grocery shopping at my job since I did work at a farmers market. I went to
the pasta section figuring Ill make pasta for dinner. The spaghetti packets were actually not too
bad because they were $2.99 a pack and the brand was Tropical Tradition. However, the organic
pasta tomato sauce was a little pricy and varied between $7.69-16.95 per bottle! I decided to go
with the cheapest one and went into the meat aisle to see if I could get some ground beef to make
some meatballs. Depending on the brand and the amount you needed, the ground beef varied

between $11.00 per packet to $39.95 per pound. All together I ended spending around $22.00
rather than spending around $15.00 at the regular grocery store which isnt too paid of a
difference. I could not stop thinking of was the difference between the prices really affected me
when I thought it didnt? For instance thats a $7.00 difference and left's say if I decided to cook
pasta once a week from now on, thats an extra $336.00 a year that I could have been saving or
put towards something. On the other side, thats money well spent because its better for my
health and body.

The next day I decided to buy breakfast from my job and see how many things I could
buy with $20.00. The first thing I picked up was eggs which were $4.99 and Im used to getting
eggs for $2.99 or less if I get them on sale at the regular grocery store. Next I looked at the bacon
but it was too expensive so I put it back. I decided to settle for some oatmeal which didnt look
very appetizing but it was only $4.15. I decided to get some freshly squeezed orange juice and
fruits from the fruit stand which they sell the orange juice $8.99 per pint and I picked up some
apples and pears which came to around $7.00. All together I spent $25.13 which is $5.13 over
my budget. I did like the fact that I knew how my eggs were prepared and know that the chicken
that it came from was not on any hormone medicines and it came from a healthy chicken.
The next day before I left work, I decided to buy snacks and dinner for tonight which was
pineapple fried rice and baked chicken. So for one, I ended spending $35.00 only on dinner
because I had to was $15.00 per pound for the chicken and the rice was $7.00 per bag. Not to
mention the rice has shrimp and pineapples in it and I couldnt afford to but the shrimp so I had
to just get the bag of dried pineapple which was $8.00. After using my last $5.00 to buy red

peppers, I realized not only did I not have money left over to buy snacks; I had also went over
my budget.
With only three days into my experiment, I went $12.17 over my budget and realized I as a
college student working a part-time job could not afford to eat organically on a budget of $70.00.
Even if I would have minimized my spending by buying smaller portions of food, I still wouldnt
be able to afford my enough food to serve me throughout the week. Eating organically comes
with a price and unless you can financially afford to keep up with the prices, I wouldnt advise
anyone to put that financial burden on their selves, especially college students. According to
Sparks People, Certified organic products are generally more expensive than their conventional
counterparts for a number of reasons such as organic food supply is limited as compared to
demand. Also, post-harvest handling of relatively small quantities of organic foods results in
higher costs because of the mandatory segregation of organic and conventional produce,
especially for processing and transportation. A possible alternative could be to look up healthier
affordable foods that can be found in local grocery stores. Also another option is going to farmer
markets and seeing if they have any deals, on food so that way it will benefited you because even
though youre paying more, youre also getting more quantity of food. Even though I would love
to go organic, I cannot financially afford it right now as me being a college student but it is
something Im definitely considering when I am older and financially stable.

Work Cited
Beattie, Leanne. "Buying Organic Food on a Budget." SparkPeople. N.p., 25 Oct. 2013.
Web. 09 Dec. 2014.
Food, Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Perf. Eric Schlosser. Movie One, 2008. DVD.