Environmental Audit

As well as taking Intro to Environmental Studies and Sustainability, I am also taking Global Health.  About a week ago we had an out of class assignment that was called an Environmental Audit, where we could pick from different projects to do that would take about two hours of our time.  I choose to go to a grocery store, in particular Harris Teeter in Mount Pleasant, and look at how many varies there were of different fruits, vegetables, and other foods. I was also looking at the price point per pound of these foods given on the list.  I was actually very interested in this project, mainly because I was curious to see what the outcomes would be.

When I walked into Harris Teeter, I went straight to the produce sections because the first foods to look at were bananas, apples, oranges, etc. I found that looking for the number of varieties there were a lot more than I honestly realized before coming.

While I was looking at all the different kinds of grapes, one of the store employees came up to me asking if I needed help.  I didn’t but we continued to talk about my school project.  He told me a lot about the differences of organic and non-organic foods. He said that the way they have to treat these foods is much different.  For example, the containers they come in are placed away from the non-organic, the sinks are different as well as the knifes, gloves, refrigerators, and the way they are stocked are all different. Harris Teeter also has their own composting system that helps because of how much waste they have due to the fruits and vegetables going bad so quickly.  I found all this information so crazy. Although I know it has been talked about in class, I just feel like hearing it from the actual store employees made it all so real about what it takes for something to truly being organic and why it all costs more to eat.

There was a lot more about this Audit that I found interesting like all the difference varieties and what made them so different, so below are the pictures of the Environmental Audit I conducted.  I am really glad that this assignment was assigned because I was really able to take the classroom information we have been learning and apply it at the actual grocery store.

                                   

2 thoughts on “Environmental Audit

  1. This is super interesting! I have made huge switches in my grocery shopping regimens and did not know all of this about Harris Teeter. It is also a litter further away but I love learning about stores that care about the products they are selling so that I can know where to go when I am in the area and let others know as well. Harris Teeter I feel has such a reputation for being expensive but when it comes to quality you really have to allocate the extra money towards it. Also, to me, it really is the same as you Walmart bill when you are picking the right foods. Thanks for the info!

  2. What a great project idea! Thank-you for sharing this information. I also had no idea about the standards Harris Teeter (and perhaps other grocery stores) have when it comes to diligently separating out organic from non-organic produce.

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