Assignment #2

1a) The other day, I took a trip to the New Seasons Market to make some specific food purchases; sugar, tapioca, protein, apples and coconut milk. I chose New Seasons because I knew that there would be alternative organic options to some of the non-local items I was searching for. After a very long label reading, aisle searching process, I ended up with the following products: (each with a brief description of my purchasing motivations)

“Lets Do Organic” Tapioca – The only organic tapioca offering and the label revealed that the only ingredient was in fact tapioca and there were no surprise additions.

“Woodstock Farms” Pure Cane Sugar – This sugar is organic and after inspecting many of the organic sugars I discovered that several actually appeared to be bleached so I picked Woodstock brand because the sugar was an off white/almost tan color which lead me to believe it was less processed.

Gala Organic Apples – I chose apples because we are in season for apples and I chose these red Gala apples because they were the only organic apple offering from Oregon.

“Native Forest” Organic Coconut Milk – Although coconut milk is by no means produced locally I chose this canned offering simply because it was organic and therefore I felt more confident about the quality of the product. There were a couple different organic options and I chose “Native Forest” because the tapioca box recommended it.

“Biochem” Whey protein – Although I could not find any organic whey I wanted to stick with Whey because it is easily digested by our bodies so I looked for an all natural offering which there were a few. Interestingly, the all natural offerings appeared to have many surprise additives so after reading many labels I settled on Biochem brand because they had a Whey powder that was not sweetened and did not have flavors or any additive of any kind just 100% whey protein.

1b) When it comes to food, I am not easily influenced by external marketing if at all. I am a very pragmatic thinker when it comes to the things that enter my body. When I go to shop for food, rather than look at the posters or advertising, I immediately look for the labels, I am interested in substance. I think about additives, chemicals, whether food can be found locally, fat, sugar and sodium and calorie content. I see food as the substance which makes my body function and my mind perform, just as unleaded fuel is exactly what my car needs to function. Of course sometimes I eat for the taste rather than just what my body needs as in the case of the Tapioca pudding made with coconut milk, in that instance though I will at least try to find a version that is less processed and organic.

4) After spending time in New Seasons Market as well as People’s Food Co-op I discovered many differences. Immediately when I walked into New Seasons Market for the first time I was struck with the colorful, clean and sharp appearance. Expense has not been spared to make New Seasons an enjoyable place to shop. The lighting in nice, the produce is displayed wonderfully and there are samples awaiting you near the entrance. People’s co-op does not have the budget that New Seasons does to have the flashy store with all the wonderful displays and sexy advertising. Although there are product similarities everything comes on a smaller scale at People’s. Both stores offer organic, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, local and other alternative offerings. New Seasons however is capable of offering numerous items of each product to supply for a vast majority of diverse people. New Seasons also works hard to appeal to the mainstream rather than only the alternative crowd. New Seasons offers many products that are imported, unhealthy and highly processed. For example you can buy Pepsi at New Seasons whereas you will only find alternative soda at People’s. People’s works hard to please their members but by no means works on a scale to offer it all or to offer multiple selections of each product type. The product offerings at People’s are much more specific with a smaller target market and all of the food more closely resembles their mission to provide food that is local, and organic.