Impacts of Organic Foods towards the Attitude of Students in Kanpur

 

 

ABSTRACT:

This research paper analyses the impact of organic food towards the attitude of students in Kanpur. Because  now a day’s most of college going students became fast foods friendly that’s why health is the major issues for youths. Therefore, my research problem is to identify the attitude of Kanpur’s college going students. The main objectives of this research are to identify the attitude of male and female students towards organic foods and its impacts on their health. This study is based on descriptive in nature and 100 respondents were selected and questionnaires filled by them and the hypothesis was tested by ‘t’ test and percentage analysis. The result reveals that, female students have higher attitude organic food in comparison to male students. Therefore on the basis of result we can say that female students are more conscious to their health in comparison to male students.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Organic food is the product of a farming system which avoids the use of man-made fertilizers; pesticides; growth regulators and livestock feed additives. Irradiation and the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or products produced from or by GMOs are generally prohibited by organic legislation. Organic agriculture is a systems approach to production that is working towards environmentally, socially and economically sustainable production. Instead, the agricultural systems rely on crop rotation, animal and plant manures, some hand weeding and biological pest control’

 

Organic agriculture is about a way of farming that pays close attention to nature. It means fewer chemicals on the land such as artificial fertilizers, which can pollute waterways. It means more wildlife and biodiversity, the absence of veterinary medicines such as antibiotics in rearing livestock and the avoidance of genetic modification. Organic farming can also offer benefits for animal welfare, as animals are required to be kept in more natural, free conditions.

 

For composite foods to be labeled as organic, at least 95% of the ingredients must come from organically produced plants or animals. EU-wide rules require organic foods to be approved by an organic certification body, which carries out regular inspections to ensure the food meets a strict set of detailed regulations, relating to production methods and labeling. Look for labels like the Soil Association. This is the gold standard of organic labeling. Because some ingredients are not available organically, a list of non-organic food ingredients are allowed however, all artificial colorings and sweeteners are banned in organic food. With many people believing that organic foods have a higher nutrient content, are kinder to the environment and livestock and are healthier than conventionally produced foods, demand for organic produce is on the rise. However, scientists have not been wholly convinced that health claims are completely justified, as the research conducted has not shown consistent results with regards to nutrient density.

 

However, there is plenty of evidence that there are more vitamins, minerals and omega-3s in organic produce - albeit sometimes just a small difference. A systematic review showed higher levels of vitamins and antioxidants in some (though not all) organic fruit and vegetables as well as lower levels of pesticide residues and heavy metals.

 

Organic food is cheapest when bought directly from a farmer or producer, either via a box scheme, farmers market or farm shop. Buying local, organic food will often cost less than the non-organic equivalent. Unfortunately, most of us cannot access organic food directly from the producer and therefore it tends to be more expensive than the basic non-organic equivalent in the supermarkets. It does pay to shop around. Some organic products cost less than premium non-organic products. You might be pleasantly surprised.

 

If you are on a tight budget but would like to buy more organic food, then you could try prioritizing your purchases. Items such as organic flour, milk, bread and butter can be cheaper, as can fresh seasonal produce such as salad leaves and herbs. If you do compare prices, you may actually find that many organic brands are cheaper than their conventional equivalents and are often on special offer.

 

There are other reasons, besides nutrition, that people choose organic food - such as taste, to avoid pesticides and a concern for the environment. The organic movement does promote better soil and it stands to reason that in the long run, organic farming is better for overall soil quality. Let’s not forget the most important factor in your diet, as far as fruit and vegetables are concerned, is to eat as much and as wide a variety as possible.

 

If eating 100% organic is a struggle, keep in mind there are many high quality, wholesome foods around that do not come with organic certification – such as grass-reared meat, wild fish and hand-made cheeses.

 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

Grunert and Juhl (1995) assess the explanatory power of ``values’’ for analyzing consumer attitudes and buying preferences. Values are thus considered criteria to select and justify actions; values are both self-centered and social centered in the sense they are at the crossroads between the individual and the society. Using the Schwartz value theory, they describe 11 motivational domains of value, which are analyzed using smallest space analysis, cluster and discriminate analysis. Schifferstein and Oude Ophuis (1998) suggested that food safety concerns and individuals’ readiness to undertake health actions a construct known as health consciousness are other relevant drivers of organic food consumption. Siskos et al (2001) suggested that the investigation and analysis of organic food purchase and consumption is well documented in the literature on consumer behavior. Studies in this area mainly focus on the complexity of factors which drive food related tastes and preferences, and some authors have proposed models which attempt to categories and integrate ethical and environmental values among the relevant factors. Fotopoulos and Krystallis (2002) stated that behavioral pattern, originally known as “green consumerism,” has subsequently broadened its meaning and nowadays “green “or, in general, “ethical “consumers consider organic food consumption a “matter of lifestyle choice”. Makatouni (2002) suggested that the latter consumers consider organic products harmless to human health and safer than conventionally produced food. Moreover, it has been also ascertained that “responsibility of family and self well-being,” as well as “buying healthy food for the sake of the children,” are primary motives for some consumers to purchase organic food products.  Freestone and McGoldrick (2008) define ethical consumers take into account the public consequences of their private acts of consumption and use their bargaining power to foster the achievement of socially relevant objectives.

 

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

1. To study the attitude of male and female students towards Organic Foods.

2. To study the impact of organic food on health of the students.

 

METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY:

Area of the study:

This study is confined to the Kanpur district only.

 

Sampling design:

The sampling technique selected for the study is simple convenient sampling.

 

Sampling unit:

The sample unit is the students of Kanpur.

 

Sample size:

The sample size is 100.

 

Source of data:

The data for this study has been collected from primary sources by means of structured close ended questionnaire.

 

Statistical tools:

The following were the statistical tools applied for the analysis of data collected t test and percentage analysis.

HYPOTHESIS:

There will be no significant difference between attitude of male and female students towards Organic foods

 

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

The study is limited to the area in Kanpur district only.

Sample size is too small. Therefore result can’t be generalized on large population.

 

ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION:

Percentage Analysis:

The percentage analysis is found that 68% female students have favorable attitude towards organic food and 32% female students have unfavorable attitude towards organic food and 53% male students have favorable attitudes towards organic foods and 47% male students have unfavorable attitude towards organic food.

 

Fig-1

 

Fig-2

 

HYPOTHESIS TESTING:

There will be no significance difference between attitude of male students and attitude of female students towards organic foods.

 

Table-1

Gender	Sample size	mean	S.D.	“t”	Level of significant
Male	50	14	2.81	2.57	Significant (0.05level)
Female	50	17	2.28

*Significant at 0.05 Level.

 

Interpretation:

From the above table-1 indicates that “t” value calculated between male and female students is 2.57 which are found to be significant at .05 level. It indicates significant difference in the attitude of male and female students towards organic foods in Kanpur. Mean value for female students is 2.28 and mean value for male students is 2.81 which indicate that female students have higher towards organic foods in comparison to male students.

 

CONCLUSION:

This study shows the attitude of male and female students towards organic foods in Kanpur. The hypothesis there is no significance difference between the attitude of male students and attitude of female students towards organic foods were tested by t test and percentage analysis. The result indicates that female student have higher attitude towards organic foods in comparison to male students. This means that female students are more health conscious to their health and male students are less conscious to their health. Organic foods pays very important role to maintain the health of people because organic foods are free from pesticides and artificial ingredients. In future scope and demand of organic foods will increased day by day because of its healthiness and rich nutrients contents.

 

REFERENCES:

1.        Fotopoulos, Christos and Athanasios Krystallis. 2002. Purchasing Motives and Profile of the Greek Organic Consumer: A Countrywide Survey. British Food Journal, 104 (8/9): 730–765.

2.        Freestone, Oliver M. and Peter J. McGoldrick. 2008. Motivations of the Ethical Consumer. Journal of Business Ethics, 79 (4): 445–467.

3.        Grunert, S.C. and Juhl, H.J. (1995), ``Values, environmental attitudes, and buying organic foods’’, Journal of Economic Psychology, Vol. 16, pp. 39-62.

4.        https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/organic/retrieved/31/05/2017

5.        Makatouni, Aikaterini. 2002. What Motivates Consumers to Buy Organic Food in the UK? Results From a Qualitative Study. British Food Journal, 104 (3/5): 345–352.

6.        Schifferstein, Hendrik N. J. and Peter A. M. Oude Ophuis. 1997. Health-Related Determinants of Organic Food Consumption in the Netherlands. Food Quality and Preference, 9 (3): 119–133.

7.        Siskos, Y., Matsatsinis, N.F. and Baourakis, G. (2001), ``Multicriteria analysis in agricultural marketing: the case of French olive oil market’’, European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 130, pp. 315-31.

 

 

 

 

Accepted on 21.06.2017          © A&V Publications all right reserved