Comparison



Comparison of carbon footprint and prices

I did the comparison of the assumed previous events and the future one that we are planning. I used the information for our grad as the template, however the ecological footprint is geared towards a family in a household. So i tried to work that into the event. Here are the questions asked and the totals PREVIOUS EVENT: question 1: How often do you eat meat and dariy products? -infrequently 2: How much of the food is processed, packaged or imported -most 3:Compared to the other households in your neighbourhood how much garbage do you throw out? -much more 4:How many people live in your household? -more than 7 5:How big is your house? -very large 6:Which category best decribes your home? -multi-story appartment building 7:Have you done alot to conserve engery at your home -No 8:How far on average do to travel by public transportation? 1-50km 9:How far do you travel by car (driver or passenger) on average per week? -over 650km 10:How often do you travel alone in a car? -about 50% of the time 11:How much fuel does your car consume? -7-10 L 12:How many hours do you spend flying? -never RESULTS: 8.4 hectares -food:1.4 shelter:1.8 mobility:1.5 goods and services:3.7

FUTURE EVENT: only made changes to questions 1,2 and 3 1:-never 2:-very little 3-much less RESULTS: 6.2 hectares changes in results food:0.7 goods and services:2.2

ANAYLSIS: -26% improvement in overall ecological footprint -50% improvement from the food -60% improvement from the goods and services.

PRICES

Consumers are paying too much for organic food
Crop rotations, higher animal welfare standards and restricted use of chemicals, leading to lower yields, all mean that organic food costs more to produce. Subsidies from the government are paid mainly to farmers with non-organic farms allowing them to keep their prices low. The pro-organic lobby argue that when buying non-organic food you are in fact paying threefold; once at the counter, second via taxation and third to remedy the environmental pollution. As the sector develops and technologies are improved, the cost of organic food should decrease as yields increase and production costs decrease.

The findings were interesting, but by no means astounding. Organic is more expensive, no matter where you purchase it, and typically the most expensive at a health food store. Organic red peppers were $6.99/lb at Planet Organic and $4.98/lb at Save-On, while the non-organic ones were $2.98/lb. Organic gala apples at Planet Organic were $2.29/lb and $1.69/lb at Save-On while the non-organic ones were $.99/lb. Planet Organic’s strawberries were cheaper than Save-On’s ($2.98/lb vs. $4.98/lb) while the non-organic ones were $2.50/lb. Just like anything, prices vary depending on the store but expect to pay more for organic.