Apples to Apples

The Social, Economic, & Environmental Musings of An Apple Purchasing Journey

This past Saturday I went on an apple purchasing journey. By the time the clock struck noon I had visited four different food vendors, paid four different prices, had four different experiences, and had four fresh Fuji apples nestled in my backpack.

I planned my route. The first stop was Alemany Farmers Market, which is the oldest farmers market in the state of California. Then I went to Cortland Avenue to visit Good Life Grocery, a local natural foods store that serves “traditional, organic and specialty groceries.” Next I ventured to Mission Street and stopped at Casa Guadalupe Supermarket, a bodega that sells fresh produce and “Latin American staples.” And my final stop was Safeway located at Mission and 30th that is owned by the Albertsons Company, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States.

I am lucky to live in a city where I have options abound when it comes to purchasing produce. But I also know that not all of these options are created equal. I wanted to know more about the impact of my food purchases. For simplicity’s sake, I broke down my insights into the economic, social and environmental impacts of these apples.

Economic Impact:

In one of the most expensive cities in the United States, I wondered how much the price of a single apple could fluctuate. I wanted to know what an apple purchase meant to not only my own pocket but also to the farmer, the store and the local economy.

• Purchases at local independent stores can result in more than 3x the amount of money staying in the local economy. (Source).

Research shows that money spent at locally owned, independent stores tend to stick around a local economy longer. One study showed that on average, 48% of each purchase at local independent businesses was recirculated locally, compared to less than 14% of purchases at chain stores. (Source).

• Farmers get more of the share of money when you purchase from farmers markets.

On average, farmers receive only 14.6 cents of every dollar that a consumer spends on food. The rest goes to marketing, processing, wholesaling, packaging, distribution and retailing (Source). Shopping at farmers markets shortens the supply chain and cuts out some of the overhead. At farmers markets, farmers can get upwards of 90 cents on the dollar for purchases (Source).

• Shopping at farmers markets doesn’t have to break the bank.

I initially guessed that the farmers market was going to be one of the more expensive options; however it was the second least expensive. It is a common misconception that farmers markets are only affordable to the middle and upper class. In reality this is dependent on the market. Many markets also accept SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) as a form of payment which increases accessibility to low income residents (Source).

Social Impact:

Everyone eats. Even if the food on our plates looks very different, food is a common connector. Farmers and consumers alike are impacted by the complexities of our food system.

• Access to fresh healthy food is not a given. Over 23.5 million people in the United States are living in food deserts (Source).
• Much of our produce today is still grown by farmworkers that struggle to maintain their rights to a fair wage, healthcare and housing.

About 15% of U.S. farmworkers migrate between farms to find continuous employment (Source). Also, more than half of the farmworker population is foreign born. The citizenship and immigration status of many farm workers often results in a lack of power that leaves them vulnerable to exploitation (Source).

Environmental Impact:

Given the lack of transparency in our food system it is hard to know exactly how food is grown and transported to our plate and what environmental impacts it has on its way.

• It’s estimated that the average meal in the United States travels over 1500 miles by the time it reaches our plate (Source).

Shopping at farmers markets cuts down on a lot of the mileage that food travels. Rather than traveling 1500 miles, food at farmers markets are almost assuredly only traveling a couple hundred miles (at most) because it is sold within a regional food system.

• Food creates a lot of packaging waste. Over 23% of materials reaching U.S. landfills are containers and packaging, with a large percentage of that being accounted for by food packaging (Source).

More grocery stores are making commitments like Trader Joes to reduce plastic packaging at the demand of consumers. Shopping at farmers markets and bodegas typically creates less packaging waste because items are sold in big bulk bins and don’t have to travel in neatly packed boxes for a 1500 mile journey.

• Over any other fruit or vegetable, apples tend to have the highest pesticide residue on them (Source).

Many choose to purchase organic apples for both environmental and human health reasons. It is important to think about what organic means in the context of the system as a whole. While the organic label assures that no synthetic pesticides are used, there are other farming practices in organic systems that are not so environmentally friendly. For example many organic systems use large amounts of plastic for weed control. This plastic ends up in the landfill at the end of the year, contributing a significant amount of plastic waste (Source). Understanding the true meaning of the organic label is important because it isn’t necessarily the end all be all solution. While the downsides of organic may be better than the conventional alternative it is still important to have an awareness of its shortcomings.

At the end of the day, all four apples were quite tasty. I am not sure how many questions I answered by going on my apple purchasing journey but it did encourage a deep reflection on how my food purchases can have an impact beyond what the eye can see.