Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Beverly Hendler graduated from university 10 years ago with a Bachelor of Business Administration, with a major in accounting. She went to work for an accounting firm and later obtained her CPA designation. Through her work as an auditor she met her husband Ross, and they now have two children, ages 4 and 2 years old.

Since the birth of her second child, Beverly has worked from home on a half-time basis.After having children, Beverly took more of an interest in the food consumed by her family. She researched the desirability of buying organic foods. There were several reasons for her interest in organic foods, but in particular, she thought they were generally a more environmentally friendly choice.

She received a shock one day when reading one of her business magazines. There were two articles challenging the conventional wisdom (see explanation below) that organic foods benefited the environment. The articles said that intensive farming on a large scale using fertilizers was much more productive. To produce the same amount of food organically would require much more land as crop yields are lower. The larger land requirement would potentially require more deforestation to keep up with demand.

According to the articles, it was questionable whether organic farming was more energy efficient. More energy was necessary because of the lower yields and the necessity to have additional plowing of fields to control invasive weeds. The articles went on to say that the purchase of local foods was not always more environmentally friendly.

Consumers driving to farmer's markets often used more energy than they would driving to local supermarkets. Furthermore, the article suggested it is more environmentally friendly and energy efficient to produce some foods in other countries rather than attempt to grow locally.

Beverly is now wondering about the appropriateness of buying organic foods. The articles did not dismiss the significance of consumers' interest in organic foods, and stated it was appropriate for consumers to "vote" with their dollars as to what kind of food they wished to consume.

The article even suggested that consumer purchasing decisions were changing the way food was produced and distributed.Point of explanation: A conventional wisdom as a widely accepted belief or view with regard to some matter that is usually not questioned.

The view that locally produced food is more environmentally friendly is widely held.

QUESTIONS:

1. Who are the stakeholders and what are their issues?

2. How do conventional wisdoms form?

3. How is business affected by conventional wisdom?

4. What should Beverly do?