I'm going to make a chicken pot pie tonight, but our refrigerator didn't contain a few essential vegetables so I went shopping. While at Meijer, I decided to buy the celery and the carrots from the "organic" section. This isn't something I ever do, mostly because it is more expensive and I share groceries with my roommates. But today I decided to splurge. When I got back home, my one roommate scoffed at the "organic" label but then apologized at laughing at my efforts. She didn't mind the organic, she just didn't believe that the veggies from Meijer were very organic. I tend to agree with her.
I'm going to investigate the
East Lansing Food Co-op the next time we need to go grocery shopping. I really want to make an effort to buy food from local vendors. First I will have to compare prices to bring around my roommates.
I can probably use my recently gained knowledge about how to change behavior to my advantage though. In my
Environmental Attitudes class we discussed different ways to change behavior based on common human characteristics. They include knowledge of cognitive maps and how they are created, overcoming the "enemies of awareness", knowledge of health values of nature, peers and role models, direct appeals to make commitments, incentives, use of knowledge of territory, and effective communications. Some of these may come in handy when convincing my roommates to forgo the easy trips to Meijer and at least somewhat replace them with trips to the co-op or farmer's markets in the summer. I could use the idea of peer pressure, incentives, and communication. I think those will be the most effective. It will be more difficult since winter is coming, but if I make a commitment myself to start buying some items from local vendors then I am more likely to do so.
You're right -- all this is more difficult in the winter. I think you are on the right track with ways to induce behavior change in your roommates. Two important ways that I didn't discuss directly was: PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE! Getting others to change does not always come easy and there will be setbacks. But you are the role model and as Gandhi said, "be the change you want to see in others." Also, bake them cookies when they do the "right" thing or even if they just try.
ReplyDeleteOverall, this round, you gave me lots to think about and write about. As the semester winds down, I always get a bit sad because I enjoy readings everyone's diaries so much that I miss doing this when the semester is over. Maybe I need to follow your lead and find a way to make a lifestyle change regarding blogs and diaries, not just one semester a year.