Volume 124 Issue 73
kansan.com
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
SARA SNEATH
ssneath@kansan.com
Shoppers in Lawrence now have an additional option when they look for organic and local foods. Natural Grocers, a Colorado-based grocery chain, opened its first Kansas location in Lawrence Nov. 11.
But as more Lawrence stores market themselves under the natural and local food labels, student must do their homework in figuring out what the terms mean.
Marty Glenn, a clinical dietitian and professor in advanced nutrition, said food companies often used buzzwords, such as "natural" or "nature." These words are not clearly defined or regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture.
"People think it is synonymous with organic," Glenn said. "I advise people to take the word 'natural' with a real grain of salt."
Glenn said the label "organic," however, is USDA regulated and means that the food was grown without hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, irradiation or bioengineering.
"When you see 'organic' on food labels, you can trust that claim," Glenn said.
Kelsey Rankin, a sophomore from Olathe, is critical of labels such as "organic" and "natural." About half of her diet consists of organic foods, which she prefers to pick at local farms. She said she harvests her own produce because she could verify with the growers that the food met her standards.
"With grocery stores it's almost impossible for me to really tell," Rankin said. "I guess you just have to trust them."
As for the word "local," Glenn said the USDA does not regulate the term, but many places have their own standards and police their own products.
"There is no uniformity with 'local.' Glenn said. "I always recommend that you find out from the farmers' market or grocery store."
Glenn added that consumers must take responsibility to find out more about products labeled "natural" and "local."
"In the end, 'organic' is a pretty legit claim," Glenn said, "but the other two, not so much."
Edited by Adam Strunk
WHY THE UNUSUAL HOURS?
NATURAL GROCERS
Monday through Saturday
8:56 a.m. to 8:04 p.m.
Sunday
9:56 a.m. to 6:06 p.m.
Renee Rodenbeek, assistant manager at Natural Grocers, said the store is lenient about its opening and closing hours. Customers are welcomed even if they arrive early or late.
"Those odd hours we list on the door are just a friendly reminder to our staff and to you that we promise to welcome you and we will all stand by that promise."
WHAT DOES LOCAL MEAN?
Renee Rodenbeek, the assistant manager of Natural Grocers, 1301 W.23rd St., said each Natural Grocers store has a slightly different definition of local.
She defined local as "in and around Lawrence. We are looking within a two to three hour radius of town. Although we are trying to stay in the state of Kansas, we need to have local producers that are interested in getting their product in our store."
Gus Wessling, the meat and seafood manager at The Merc, 901 Iowa St., said The Merc used to label food "local" if it was grown or raised within a 200-mile radius of The Merc. Wessling said while all the food labeled "local" in The Merc still fit that standard, The Merc changed its local food standard last year.
The Merc now labels products as local if they are grown within the area and benefit the local economy, Wessling said.
MAX MIKIILECKY/KANSAN
The Merc, 901 Iowa St., and newly opened Natural Grocers, 1301 W. 23rd St., provide Lawrence shoppers with options when it comes to buying all-natural food.
RELATIONSHIPS
College, dating, sex and love
ALEXA RUSH
arush@kansan.com
The idea that college students prefer casual dating over monogynous relationships, and the notion that men are more sexually driven than women, may be myths.
Research, more and more, debunks these widely held beliefs, said John Sakaluk, a social psychology graduate student from Ontario, Canada. A 2003 article in The Journal of Sex Research indicates men and women rate themselves as being less comfortable with "hooking up" than they thought their friends were.
Amanda Maes, a senior from Denver, is engaged to be married this June. She said she saw more people looking for someone to spend the night with rather than someone to spend a lifetime with.
The authors also found that both men and women overestimate how comfortable members of the opposite sex are with casual relationships.
"I'm not saying that every single college student is like this," Maes said. "But the majority
seems to be."
The culture of casual dating has left many wondering what happened to the days of men making the first move or bringing a gift of flowers or candy on a first date. Even if men and women have inaccurate pictures of their peers' sex lives, Sakaluk said they are becoming more similar in their attitudes toward sex and relationships.
He pointed to a 2005 study in the American Psychologist Journal by Janet Hyde, professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison, which found male and female graduate students now have fewer differences in how they view dating compared with graduate students in the 1960s.
This meaning that both males and females watch and listen to their peers and media to choose which actions to mimic.
Research conducted by Sakaluk shows that now both men and women share the same sexual interests, although society still tends to look down upon this, as it did in earlier decades.
"Both men and women believe that men should always be ready and interested in having sex. When they turn sex down in most circumstances, it can result in a lot of negative evaluations of
A 2011 study by Hyde suggests that social factors, not necessarily biological factors, are responsible for psychological gender differences.
A 2011 study
JOHN SAKALUK
Social psychology graduate student
that man, so I think men feel tremendous social pressure to behave sexually," he said. "Alternatively, women are typically expected to not have a strong sexual interest, unless
they are in a romantic, emotionally involved relationship with someone. When women violate this expectation, they frequently
Hyde's study found more similarities between men's and women's attitudes toward premarital sex, extramarital sex and the number of sexual partners a person has, than in previous decades.
are evaluated negatively."
"Men and women are becoming increasingly similar in their sexual attitudes and behaviors," Sakaluk said. "And this likely has quite an effect on many different relationship types or phases, like dating."
Meanwhile, some students are uncomfortable with what's seen as more casual hooking up and breaking up. Stephanie Eleeson, a sophomore from Wichita, said she thought dating was more traditional when her parents were young.
"Now, the dating scene is much less serious, and casual dating is way more popular than serious relationships," she said.
Myth or reality, college remains a prime time for romance, whether it's for a night or a lifetime.
- Edited by Sarah Champ
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas, get ready, he's almost here.
President Obama will visit Osa-
watomie, south of Lawrence, today.
He's scheduled to give a speech on
the economy just after 1 p.m.
Osawatomi was the site of Teddy Roosevelt's "New Nationalism" speech, which heralded his progressive economic agenda.
On Monday, President Obama said Congress needs to extend a payroll tax cut, saying the economic recovery is "still fragile" and middle class families need the money.
Obama scheduled for visit to Kansas
POLITICS
The president is urging Republicans to "keep your word to the American people" on not raising taxes.
Obama has been seeking an extension and expansion to the payroll tax cut that will expire at the end of the year. The White House says taxes on the average family would increase by $1,000 if the cuts are not extended.
Some Republicans in Congress support the extension but the
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 9
The Osawatomi speech also comes as the Republican race for president heats up.
Surging in polls, Newt Gingrich declared confidently Monday that he plans to run a general election campaign in all 50 states should he win the Republican presidential nomination. But he also found himself defending comments he had made about poor children — hinting at the potential troubles and new scrutiny he faces in the race.
Index
"I do not suggest children until about 14 or 15 years of age do heavy, dangerous janitorial work," Gingrich told reporters, seeking to explain previous remarks that rivals have used to criticize him. "On the other hand, there are a number of things done to clean buildings that are not heavy or dangerous."
Obama also says for Congress to end its work this year without extending unemployment insurance would be a "terrible mistake."
parties have been split on how to pay for it.
CLASSIFIEDS 11
CROSSWORD 4
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 4
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan
Today's Weather
Forecasted costs by University students. For a more detailed forecast, see page 24.
Pick up your game day poster inside for tonight's basketball game against Long Beach State at 8.
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