This year Whitman College students are digesting food on another level by auditing the process of consumption itself. Several campus groups are working on a food audit, which will examine Bon Appétit Food Management Company’s purchases as part of the nationally-organized Real Food Challenge (RFC).

The RFC website defines real food as ” … food which  truly nourishes producers, consumers, communities and the earth.” Real food is food that meets certain criteria including local and community-based, fair, ecologically sound and humane.

But defining real food is often itself a challenge.

“The challenges to really defining ‘real food’ are numerous because ‘real’ is a nebulous term,” said junior Lauren McCullough in an e-mail. McCullough formerly served as the RFC Northwest Regional Field Organizer.

According to McCullough, one of those challenges is that the criteria for defining real food are dependent on third-party labels. Food may be real in one aspect, but not in another. For example, Bon Appétit General Manager Roger Edens said that Bon Appétit looks to buy local products. Their goal is to purchase 20 percent of food from local producers.

However, local food often lacks organic certification because small farmers have trouble paying licensing fees and meeting other  requirements  for a third-party label. Because Bon Appétit policy specifically preferences local food over organic, they might look for different real foods than RFC proper when making purchasing decisions.

Campaigning for better, more ethical food on campus is not a new activity for Whitman students. Sustainability Coordinator Nat Clarke recalled past student initiatives to change the menu at Bon Appétit.

“Our relationship with Bon Appétit as far as the student body is concerned has been gracious at times and tenuous at times,” he said.

Certain initiatives over the years have received Bon Appétit support. As an example, Clarke cited that Bon Appétit helped students perform a waste audit two years ago. Last year, Bon Appétit performed the audit alone. That audit helped quantify waste, which is important information for establishing industrial composters on campus, another student project.

“As long as we can demonstrate student support, they’re willing to try most things,” said Clarke.

Edens expressed his support for the food audit.

“Bon Appétit has a really robust philosophy about sustainability and the environment, it’s one of our core principles,” he said.

Earlier this year, students have held conferences with Bon Appétit about the audit. Edens said that Bon Appétit has even helped students navigate the process of auditing.

To complete the audit, students will examine the purchasing invoices of all three dining halls and Café 66 in Reid Campus Center. Edens said that purchasing invoices from large companies will be disclosed for the audit, as will records from smaller farms.

The audit will be completed for purely informational purposes and is designed to measure Bon Appétit’s purchases against RFC standards. This information may later be used by students to lobby for changes in food purchasing.

“The results are absolutely the first step for any action, both in terms of campus activism and for institutional buying procedures. Without knowing what the current situation is, you can’t intelligently campaign for meaningful change,” said McCullough.

Edens said that, though Bon Appétit actively seeks to buy sustainable and environmentally conscious foods, definitions of real food can differ between groups. He said that Bon Appétit has to consider taste and cost in making purchasing decisions, which is another reason for their emphasis on local food.

“I think balance is the right thing,” he said.

Clarke said that accuracy would be a challenge with the audit.

“Essentially, the only real way to know if it’s real, good, healthy food is to grow it yourself, cook it yourself, or if you have complete disclosure of everything from dirt to table,” he said.

McCullough acknowledged the difficulties with defining real food, but said that they shouldn’t get in the way of the real point of the RFC.

“Real food, as we’re classifying it, doesn’t embody the change I want to see in the global food system,” she said over e-mail. “It’s not perfect. It’s not necessarily equitable or fair or sustainable, but it’s a crucial step in the right direction.”