Science

salvorhardin

(9,995 posts) Sat Jul 7, 2012, 08:06 PM Jul 2012

Does organic food turn people into jerks?

Now where's the study which shows that everyone who doesn't eat the way I do is intellectually stunted, ethically bankrupt, and likely kicks puppies and small children? On a serious note, this strikes me as a tiny effect. Also notice that the study involves priming -- the subjects in each group weren't even fed various types of food but were shown pictures! Not that priming isn't a valid research techique but I just don't know if showing people pictures of food is going to get them in a judgmental or helping frame of mind.

Abstract is here, but I don't have access so color me skeptical for now: http://spp.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/05/14/1948550612447114.abstract

To find out, Eskine and his team divided 60 people into three groups. One group was shown pictures of clearly labeled organic food, like apples and spinach. Another group was shown comfort foods such as brownies and cookies. And a third group -- the controls -- were shown non-organic, non-comfort foods like rice, mustard and oatmeal. After viewing the pictures, each person was then asked to read a series of vignettes describing moral transgressions.

"One vignette was about second cousins having sex," says Eskine. "Another was about a lawyer on the prowl in an ER trying to get people to sue for their injuries. Then the groups made moral judgments on a scale from one to seven."

In another phase of the study, the three groups were asked to volunteer for a (fictitious) study, with each person writing down the amount of time -- from zero to 30 minutes -- that they would be willing to volunteer.

The results did not bode well for the organic folks.

"We found that the organic people judged much harder compared to the control or comfort food groups," says Eskine. "On a scale of 1 to 7, the organic people were like 5.5 while the controls were about a 5 and the comfort food people were like a 4.89."

When it came to helping out a needy stranger, the organic people also proved to be more selfish, volunteering only 13 minutes as compared to 19 minutes (for controls) and 24 minutes (for comfort food folks).

Full article: http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/18/11737146-does-organic-food-turn-people-into-jerks?lite

15 replies

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Highlight:

Does organic food turn people into jerks? (Original Post) salvorhardin Jul 2012 OP

I don't like the way the study was done, but then there is this Kalidurga Jul 2012 #1

I think people have multiple reasons for choosing organic (or not) salvorhardin Jul 2012 #4

We try to east mostly organic Marrah_G Jul 2012 #10

The sample size is not large enough for the range of 4.89 - 5.5 to be of any significance. bah. nebenaube Jul 2012 #2

I agree salvorhardin Jul 2012 #3

I am not even sure I understand how this study measured anything. Curmudgeoness Jul 2012 #5

Fuck you. I love organic food. Ian David Jul 2012 #6

Pretentous snobs are jerks? you don't say! Odin2005 Jul 2012 #7

I don't think people who eat organic are snobs.... Marrah_G Jul 2012 #9

Many years ago, biotech companies did extensive consumer marketing studies bananas Jul 2012 #8

No, but jerks often look for causes to be jerks over. Warpy Jul 2012 #11

Presumably the way this study was designed, that should be eliminated salvorhardin Jul 2012 #12

And this wasn't about people who eat organic food, it was about junk food junkies bananas Jul 2012 #15

Hell yes libodem Jul 2012 #13

funny thing about "jerks"... Javaman Jul 2012 #14

Kalidurga

(14,177 posts)

1. I don't like the way the study was done, but then there is this

Reply to salvorhardin (Original post)

Sat Jul 7, 2012, 08:56 PM

Jul 2012

There's a line of research showing that when people can pat themselves on the back for their moral behavior, they can become self-righteous

it was the first thing I thought of. However, I don't think eating organic is a moral choice. It is a choice a person might make because they believe organic food is healthier. I don't think it is necessarily as there is a lot of contamination from nearby non-organic farms. But, even if it is healthier it still not a question of having higher morals if a person goes organic. I eat a lot of fruits and veggies, not organic and I quit eating meat. I don't view those choices as moral or even better choices, they are for me that's as far as that goes.

What I don't like about the study is that they showed different kinds of foods vs organic like brownies and mustard in one group. I think they should have just shown the same kinds of foods and labeled them organic or health foods to see if they have the same effect.

salvorhardin

(9,995 posts)

4. I think people have multiple reasons for choosing organic (or not)

Reply to Kalidurga (Reply #1)

Sat Jul 7, 2012, 09:33 PM

Jul 2012

For instance, I prefer the taste of organic tomatoes, but I can't afford them. Hell, I can't really afford fresh tomatoes at all anymore -- even the cardboard industrial tomatoes. On the other hand, I think the claims of organic veggies being more nutritious are based on bad science. Yet, I believe there are good reasons to eat locally grown produce, grown with minimal pesticides.

See what I mean? Multiple reasons all within the same person.

Marrah_G

(28,581 posts)

10. We try to east mostly organic

Reply to salvorhardin (Reply #4)

Sun Jul 8, 2012, 07:55 AM

Jul 2012

3 reasons:

Taste and quality
Knowing exactly what is going into our bodies
I like knowing that a good portion of my food budget is going directly to the farmer.

I would also like to point out that I am a poor single working mother. trying to eat mostly organic isn't easy to do on a budget. It takes lots of planning and lots of cooking.

nebenaube

(3,496 posts)

2. The sample size is not large enough for the range of 4.89 - 5.5 to be of any significance. bah.

Reply to salvorhardin (Original post)

Sat Jul 7, 2012, 09:24 PM

Jul 2012

And yes, I'm an stingy organic food jerk.

salvorhardin

(9,995 posts)

3. I agree

Reply to nebenaube (Reply #2)

Sat Jul 7, 2012, 09:28 PM

Jul 2012

Tiny effect.

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)

5. I am not even sure I understand how this study measured anything.

Reply to salvorhardin (Original post)

Sat Jul 7, 2012, 10:04 PM

Jul 2012

Just because you show me organic food, real or pictures, I cannot imagine that my answers would be different than if I was shown brownies. Now, if you separate out subjects by whether they claim to eat organic or comfort foods or somewhere in between, I can see how that might give you some insight (but I am skeptical of that as well). This doesn't even make sense to me.

On a personal note, I have found that some people who are "organic food snobs" can be more self-righteous. I always will remember when I attended a sustainable building conference, and made the mistake of wearing leather shoes. These people were relentless in condemning me....and this experience has painted the image of these snobs in my mind forever. So I would like to believe this study has made a valid point, but I can't.

Ian David

(69,059 posts)

6. Fuck you. I love organic food.

Reply to salvorhardin (Original post)

Sat Jul 7, 2012, 10:26 PM

Jul 2012

I'm just kidding.

Odin2005

(53,521 posts)

7. Pretentous snobs are jerks? you don't say!

Reply to salvorhardin (Original post)

Sun Jul 8, 2012, 12:35 AM

Jul 2012

Marrah_G

(28,581 posts)

9. I don't think people who eat organic are snobs....

Reply to Odin2005 (Reply #7)

Sun Jul 8, 2012, 07:50 AM

Jul 2012

Perhaps it depends on the area, but I certainly don't find that here.

bananas

(27,509 posts)

8. Many years ago, biotech companies did extensive consumer marketing studies

Reply to salvorhardin (Original post)

Sun Jul 8, 2012, 01:38 AM

Jul 2012

and found that, given a choice between organic, genetically modified, or unlabeled food, people would pay significantly extra for organic and significantly less for genetically modified food.

So the biotech industry lobbied hard to prevent food labelling.

Warpy

(111,270 posts)

11. No, but jerks often look for causes to be jerks over.

Reply to salvorhardin (Original post)

Sun Jul 8, 2012, 08:31 AM

Jul 2012

salvorhardin

(9,995 posts)

12. Presumably the way this study was designed, that should be eliminated

Reply to Warpy (Reply #11)

Sun Jul 8, 2012, 09:09 PM

Jul 2012

Last edited Mon Jul 9, 2012, 03:09 PM - Edit history (1)

They randomly divided the subjects into three groups, then showed them pictures of food -- one group got food labeled organic, the other got just food, and the third got pictures of comfort food. So the subjects weren't given a chance to express a food preference, they were just primed with the photos for their group. Thus any effect seen should be due to the influence of seeing the pictures, as opposed to an existing preference. If it was their existing preference affecting their behavior, then you would think there'd be no effect seen at all as some people who prefer organic would end up seeing pictures of comfort food, while some people who have negative feelings about organic food would end up seeing pictures of organic food.

However... the effect they did see was tiny, and n=40, and it's not clear to me that priming works in this case.

bananas

(27,509 posts)

15. And this wasn't about people who eat organic food, it was about junk food junkies

Reply to salvorhardin (Reply #12)

Mon Jul 9, 2012, 02:14 PM

Jul 2012

I didn't read the study, but based on the article, they didn't distinguish on how people actually ate, they just took a random sample of people - which probably means mostly people who eat junk food, people who eat fast food at McDonalds, etc.