As I have stated in my previous blog, I just became a Crossfit Certified Trainer. This is very exciting for me because I will now be able to teach Crossfit movements to others. The benefits of Crossfit are amazing and some are referring to it as one of the most effective ways to get fit. After doing Crossfit workouts for over a year, I have become very in tune to the fitness culture and the different topics that come up from day to day. Along with Newsweek and Sports Illustrated, the Crossfit website and Muscle & Fitness are regular reads for me. It seems that with the growing trend of obesity in America, all four of these magazines have either begun or have been focusing on diet. In fact, at my certification I learned that nutrition and diet accounts for 80% of body composition while exercise will make up for the remaining 20%. So while I’ve been working out for over 6 years, I’ve been doing it all wrong by focusing on the small 20% and ignoring the 80%.
I stated in the past blog that I have started reading up on organic foods and their possible benefits. My first experience with an article about organic foods was a small article that discussed the possible side effects of some pesticides used on fruits and vegetables. They said these chemicals could possibly cause the body to overstore fat. At the time, I didn’t care about organic foods, because they were pricey and because I was on the “bodybuilder” diet. I would eat as much tuna, chicken, meat, and bread as I could. As organic products became more popular my curiosity of their benefits grew. Then I began talking to my brother who had switched to a diet consisting more of organic foods. He would send me links to articles, references, studies, and all different sorts of media that explained and proved their benefits. However, my HEB was still selling non-organic products.
Due to the fact that I wanted to become a trainer, I began reexamining my diet. I wondered if a meal consisting of burgers and fries was really beneficial. I was still exercising like a nut, but if I wanted to maximize my power output, I would have to start changing the fuel I was using. This led me to Whole Foods. I began browsing the store, and I was faced with the paradox of choice, organic products for more money or regular products for what fit my budget. Was the added value of organic products actually realized when eaten? Was it all a scam in order to grasp this niche market by tricking them into thinking that organic products had added health benefits? Were people buying these products for social or actual health benefits? All these questions began to come to mind and I began my research by looking into the benefits of organic beef, chicken, pork and grass fed beef. The results of much of my research led me to begin to feed into the organic craze. I was buying food purely from Whole Foods, and eating at restaurants that served cage free chickens and organic vegetables.
The study or research I want to conduct will look into organic products. I want to find out who their customer base is. I want to see if these customers fit into some sort of demographic or lifestyle segment. I also want to see what kind of marketing is done by the retailers and wholesalers of organic products. I also think it would be interesting to see how Crossfit views organic products and whether fitness enthusiasts realize the health benefits of organic products. Due to the fact that I am a certified trainer, I want to know if the recommendation of organic products to my clients, or customers would be a reasonable recommendation and whether these clients would find the benefits that I list and research are enough to get them to pay the extra money. Is the price of organic products reflective of their perceived benefit, social benefit, or actual health benefit?
Here's an article I found on the abc News website: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=3353401&page=1
I also found this article courtesy of Google Scholar. It discusses who consumes organic foods in the UK: http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=/published/emeraldfulltextarticle/pdf/0701040314.pdf
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Crossfit, and the Organic Hysteria
After being given this assignment, I was excited to be able to write on a free topic. I was hoping to write about what I’ve been doing over the weekend. Then I realized I had to connect it to the readings, and I began to get a little nervous because I wasn’t exactly sure how I would do this. Well, to begin, let me just tell you all what has been going on this weekend. I have been attending a Crossfit Certification Seminar. This means, by Sunday night I will be an official Crossfit Certified Trainer. Crossfit is a methodology of fitness that incorporates ten points of fitness performance attributes. These attributes include, but are not limited to power, strength, coordination, agility, and respiratory endurance. Along with this certification, I’m planning on getting a personal training certification that will allow me to train my own clients. So this has all been very exciting to me. Along with these certifications, there have been changes to my diet due to Crossfit’s nutritional plan. This eating plan is called the “Paleolithic” diet. This diet consists of eating meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds, no sugar and small amounts of starch.
Following the readings, I came across a Whole Foods article written by Seth Lubove. He wrote about Whole Foods and its sale of organic products. He was critical of the selling of these organic products and he was skeptical of their benefits. I know this article was written prior to 2004 and therefore prior to recent literature regarding the benefits of organic products. The article also spoke of the prices of these products and their drastic profit margins. While I know Whole Foods really increases their prices on many products, it is important to consider the experience that one gets when visiting the store. It isn’t a normal grocery store, and this isn’t because of their large selection of organic products, but because of their presentation. They first began as a niche market grocery store, but I believe within the next 30 years, after much of the literature I have read regarding the benefits of organic products and naturally raised animals, this niche market will grow into a larger market. At this point, I believe competition will increase and prices will become competitive just as in any other industry.
Because I am a big fitness enthusiast, I want to touch on the benefits of the products that Whole Foods has decided to sell, even if it is at a large profit at the consumer’s expense. First, I’m a big meat guy, and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about with organic, grass-fed, and “natural” meat products. These products are important to our diet for many reasons. In the times before cows were set to graze in pastures and fed grains, they were free to roam and eat grass. The relevance behind this is that cows that eat grains become high in Omega 6 fatty acids, and low in Omega 3 fatty acids. On the other hand, cows that are fed grass contain high amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids, and lower Omega 6 fatty acids. This is important because high Omega 6 fatty acid content leads to heart disease and high cholesterol. Organic, and natural meats become “certified organic” if they do not contain any additives or hormones. These additives and hormones are given to the cow to give us a meat that is artificially enlarged to sell more meat at a cheaper price. Studies have also shown that many of the additives contained in non-organic products cause a chemical reaction in the body which tells it to store fat. There are many more benefits to organic products that I won’t be able to go in depth to, such as the support of local farmers; however, I hope the aforementioned information is at least enough to get people steering towards the right direction.
The weekend is wrapping up, and I have another day of certification to get through. I hope to get more research done in nutrition, but I want to encourage the readers of this blog, even if it is just my TA or professor to visit the following website, www.eatwild.com. The website contains a lot of great information on the benefits of grass fed, and natural products. Again, while I enjoyed the Whole Foods article because I enjoy the store so much, I was displeased with the painting of this CEO as a money sucker. The article made me feel like I was being scammed for purchasing these products. I feel that because of the rarity and difficulty in attaining organic products, a store that offers them at a higher price can still be seen as reasonable.
Following the readings, I came across a Whole Foods article written by Seth Lubove. He wrote about Whole Foods and its sale of organic products. He was critical of the selling of these organic products and he was skeptical of their benefits. I know this article was written prior to 2004 and therefore prior to recent literature regarding the benefits of organic products. The article also spoke of the prices of these products and their drastic profit margins. While I know Whole Foods really increases their prices on many products, it is important to consider the experience that one gets when visiting the store. It isn’t a normal grocery store, and this isn’t because of their large selection of organic products, but because of their presentation. They first began as a niche market grocery store, but I believe within the next 30 years, after much of the literature I have read regarding the benefits of organic products and naturally raised animals, this niche market will grow into a larger market. At this point, I believe competition will increase and prices will become competitive just as in any other industry.
Because I am a big fitness enthusiast, I want to touch on the benefits of the products that Whole Foods has decided to sell, even if it is at a large profit at the consumer’s expense. First, I’m a big meat guy, and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about with organic, grass-fed, and “natural” meat products. These products are important to our diet for many reasons. In the times before cows were set to graze in pastures and fed grains, they were free to roam and eat grass. The relevance behind this is that cows that eat grains become high in Omega 6 fatty acids, and low in Omega 3 fatty acids. On the other hand, cows that are fed grass contain high amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids, and lower Omega 6 fatty acids. This is important because high Omega 6 fatty acid content leads to heart disease and high cholesterol. Organic, and natural meats become “certified organic” if they do not contain any additives or hormones. These additives and hormones are given to the cow to give us a meat that is artificially enlarged to sell more meat at a cheaper price. Studies have also shown that many of the additives contained in non-organic products cause a chemical reaction in the body which tells it to store fat. There are many more benefits to organic products that I won’t be able to go in depth to, such as the support of local farmers; however, I hope the aforementioned information is at least enough to get people steering towards the right direction.
The weekend is wrapping up, and I have another day of certification to get through. I hope to get more research done in nutrition, but I want to encourage the readers of this blog, even if it is just my TA or professor to visit the following website, www.eatwild.com. The website contains a lot of great information on the benefits of grass fed, and natural products. Again, while I enjoyed the Whole Foods article because I enjoy the store so much, I was displeased with the painting of this CEO as a money sucker. The article made me feel like I was being scammed for purchasing these products. I feel that because of the rarity and difficulty in attaining organic products, a store that offers them at a higher price can still be seen as reasonable.
Monday, February 2, 2009
The Paradox of Choice? hmmmm.....
Upon first listening to the podcast, I was astounded by how accurate it described the decision making process. I found myself first identifying with his point that more freedom is a consequence of more choice, and that these all lead to better welfare for individuals. Barry Schwarz made perfect sense. When looking for products or services, we as consumers are always looking for the best possible choice for ourselves. This is why the latest craze in products has been the customization of products that allows consumers to create their own final product.
The saying goes, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” In this instance my question is whether companies began offering more customization before consumers were demanding such products. Either way, the consumer decision making process has changed as they have been presented with more choices. As was said in the video podcast, in the beginning people were satisfied with a poor fitting pair of jeans because it was the best available, but now people have more choices, and better fitting jeans, yet they are increasingly dissatisfied after purchases. Therefore, the process has evolved. We as consumers used to shop primarily based on need and would choose products that would satisfy the need as best as possible. The only outlets for such products were retailers and possibly wholesalers. Now though, we are presented with a need or a want and immediately browse the internet for products that may satisfy the need. We then will do research on the product. This will involve the reading of reviews by other product users. By this time we will hope that we have found a product that we will be satisfied with. Then most often, we will have post purchase depression. What causes this depression/dissatisfaction? Most often it is caused by our own logic. We think about opportunity costs, and we feel that while the product satisfies our need, we could have possibly been better with the next available product. So, unless you’re rich and can buy everything, this poses a problem.
I myself have experienced this numerous times. It usually occurs with larger purchases because the frequency of purchase on such products such as a new HDTV or computer occur less often and are often accompanied by large payments. Just recently, I purchased a new HDTV. About 4 years ago, due to the small amount of choices for such a product, I would have been able to pick out a TV, and bring it home with no buyer’s remorse. Now though, these TV’s come with features such as 720P, 1080P, Dynamic Contrast Ratio, 2-4 HDMI slots, built in tuners, backlights, 60-120 HZ processors, and sizes from 19”-72”. Therefore making such a choice becomes difficult and will involve hours upon hours of research. Even still, I can watch my TV and be satisfied, but still unsure and a little dissatisfied because I don’t feel I got the best TV.
When mentioning the paradox of choice to my friend, he immediately responded by saying “DUDE! That’s why I totally hate restaurants.” What he meant was, when you go to a restaurant, you’re immediately given a menu with a vast amount of choices. Most will serve burgers, chicken, salads, steaks, soups, and much more. Most of the time though, you have a favorite dish at restaurants and you can always pick that as your safe choice, but sometimes you want to try something new, and this causes problems. There are two things that can happen; the dish can either be better or worse than your favorite dish. If it’s worse though, this is horrible because you have now spent money on food that you know could have been better. Now if the dish is better than your favorite dish; well this puts you in a predicament where you now think that you can do better with your choice of food.
The paradox of choice explains so much, so well. I thought it was very funny for Barry to say that we should always aim low, that way we can be happy with what we get even if it isn’t the best. The whole concept can be applied to much more than just consumerism. While people of the world have had greater welfare due to greater choices and greater freedoms, it seems that it peaks. Even America has come to a point where deregulation of the capital markets caused a global meltdown. Deregulation meant more freedoms and choices for individuals. However, if the individuals making choices in turn violate the harm principle, I think this leads to downturns. Meaning, when individuals make choices to benefit their well being, but doing so harms another’s well being, than this freedom of choice has been abused. I find it very fascinating to see this consumer theory applied to other parts of life.
The saying goes, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” In this instance my question is whether companies began offering more customization before consumers were demanding such products. Either way, the consumer decision making process has changed as they have been presented with more choices. As was said in the video podcast, in the beginning people were satisfied with a poor fitting pair of jeans because it was the best available, but now people have more choices, and better fitting jeans, yet they are increasingly dissatisfied after purchases. Therefore, the process has evolved. We as consumers used to shop primarily based on need and would choose products that would satisfy the need as best as possible. The only outlets for such products were retailers and possibly wholesalers. Now though, we are presented with a need or a want and immediately browse the internet for products that may satisfy the need. We then will do research on the product. This will involve the reading of reviews by other product users. By this time we will hope that we have found a product that we will be satisfied with. Then most often, we will have post purchase depression. What causes this depression/dissatisfaction? Most often it is caused by our own logic. We think about opportunity costs, and we feel that while the product satisfies our need, we could have possibly been better with the next available product. So, unless you’re rich and can buy everything, this poses a problem.
I myself have experienced this numerous times. It usually occurs with larger purchases because the frequency of purchase on such products such as a new HDTV or computer occur less often and are often accompanied by large payments. Just recently, I purchased a new HDTV. About 4 years ago, due to the small amount of choices for such a product, I would have been able to pick out a TV, and bring it home with no buyer’s remorse. Now though, these TV’s come with features such as 720P, 1080P, Dynamic Contrast Ratio, 2-4 HDMI slots, built in tuners, backlights, 60-120 HZ processors, and sizes from 19”-72”. Therefore making such a choice becomes difficult and will involve hours upon hours of research. Even still, I can watch my TV and be satisfied, but still unsure and a little dissatisfied because I don’t feel I got the best TV.
When mentioning the paradox of choice to my friend, he immediately responded by saying “DUDE! That’s why I totally hate restaurants.” What he meant was, when you go to a restaurant, you’re immediately given a menu with a vast amount of choices. Most will serve burgers, chicken, salads, steaks, soups, and much more. Most of the time though, you have a favorite dish at restaurants and you can always pick that as your safe choice, but sometimes you want to try something new, and this causes problems. There are two things that can happen; the dish can either be better or worse than your favorite dish. If it’s worse though, this is horrible because you have now spent money on food that you know could have been better. Now if the dish is better than your favorite dish; well this puts you in a predicament where you now think that you can do better with your choice of food.
The paradox of choice explains so much, so well. I thought it was very funny for Barry to say that we should always aim low, that way we can be happy with what we get even if it isn’t the best. The whole concept can be applied to much more than just consumerism. While people of the world have had greater welfare due to greater choices and greater freedoms, it seems that it peaks. Even America has come to a point where deregulation of the capital markets caused a global meltdown. Deregulation meant more freedoms and choices for individuals. However, if the individuals making choices in turn violate the harm principle, I think this leads to downturns. Meaning, when individuals make choices to benefit their well being, but doing so harms another’s well being, than this freedom of choice has been abused. I find it very fascinating to see this consumer theory applied to other parts of life.
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