ILP 3: The Carolina Reader

“Organic Foods: Do Eco-Friendly Attitudes Predict Eco-Friendly Behaviors?” by Molly J. Dahm, Aurelia V. Samonte, and Amy R. Shows is an article written for the Journal of America College Health. This article is focusing on awareness, attitudes, and behaviors of university students towards organic foods (Dahm 333). The three writers are trying to prove there is association between the consumption of organic foods and other environmentally behaviors (Dahm 335). “Environmentally things” could range from recycling, energy conservation to carpooling or driving hybrid cars (Duhm 334). In order to prove their argument, they decide to sample and survey 443 political science major college students at a university in the southeastern part of the United States. They stated, “the sampling method ensured a representative sample of the student body (Dahm 336)."

After gathering a sample group, Dahm, Samonte, and Shows then issued surveys out to the students. The survey consisted of questions  about demographics, knowledge on organic food,  one’s attitude about organic food, eating behaviors, and behaviors regarding other eco-friendly behaviors. From the surveys taken, the writers were able to collect much data and display many results. They were able to determine statics about the university student who had taken the survey. Such as, race, age, gender, grade level, household annual income, if they were knowledgeable about organic foods, if one purchased organically grown food, and much more. Dahm, Samonte, and Shows were also able to construct tables, charts and graphs to display their results. 

Dahm, Samonte, and Shows were able to conclude from their experimentation that attitudes towards organic food was found to be suggestively linked to buying and consumption of organic food on campus, in restaurants and at home via multiple correlations they examined (Dahm 339).  They wrote, “attitude was found to be a significant predictor (p<.01) of all three behaviors (Dahm 339)”. They stated as well, “most students (56.4%) were neutral in their opinion about organic foods, but 41.3% either “accept organic foods” or “only eat organic foods”(Duham 338).” Through this article, Dahm, Samonte, and Shows were able to prove that there is an association between the consumption of organic foods and other environmentally behaviors. They wrote, “the respondents’ attitudes about an eco-friendly behavior such as recycling, energy, conservation were significantly related to supportive behaviors such as recycling, energy conservation, driving hybrid cars or carpooling, and ozone protection (Duham 340).”

Work Cited

Bauknight, Lee, and William W. Garland. Organic Foods:Do Eco-Friendly Attitudes Predict Eco-Friendly Behaviors? The Carolina Reader. Southlake, TX: Fountainhead, 2013. 333-44. Print.