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Are food preferences political?

  2. willbpayne
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This is a fascinating NYT article about how pollsters from both parties are using consumer preference data, specifically about food and beverage choices, to predict voter behavior, and tailor their messages accordingly.

One good quote:
"For example, Dr Pepper is a Republican soda. Pepsi-Cola and Sprite are Democratic. So are most clear liquors, like gin and vodka, along with white wine and Evian water. Republicans skew toward brown liquors like bourbon or scotch, red wine and Fiji water. When it comes to fried chicken, he said, Democrats prefer Popeyes and Republicans Chick-fil-A."

Let's see... I love bourbon, scotch, and gin, both kinds of wine, think soda and bottled water are both huge wastes (though I do have a soft spot for Gerolsteiner mineral water, from Germany), and sadly have no considered position on fried chicken chains.

How will I vote, pollsters?
willbpayne

16 responses // Are food preferences political?

  • That NYT article was interesting... I don't know where I would fall either. I guess if I shop at Whole Foods, then I am an Obama kind of girl, but I could have told ya'll that anyways.
    nicolesh
  • http://farm1.static.flickr.com/183/436782585_b1132a69c7...
    Yes, food choices ARE political. Maybe not so much which brand of diet soda you drink, but where you get your food and what you eat in a macro sense.

    If you buy fresh produce at a local farmer's market, then you are making a political choice to support small family farms over corporate agriculture.

    If you buy produce in season, from your local area or at least from the United States, then you are voting with your dollars against greenhouse gases -- because think about it, those beautiful blueberries from Chile in the winter had to be flown and trucked over here at a great expenditure of fossil fuel.

    If you buy organic, then you are also voting with your pocketbook and your mouth -- to support farming practices that are beneficial for the environment. Organic farming puts less (or none at all) pesticides and fertilizers into your air and water.

    Most importantly, if you eat a mostly plant-based diet, and forgo fast food and animal products, you are voting conservative! You are voting for less waste, less government handouts (subsidies) to agribusiness, less government spending on health care because meat eating is directly linked to our high rates of strokes and heart disease in this country. Less waste, because it takes vastly more amounts of energy to produce a pound of meat protein than it takes to produce a pound of plant protein.

    The meat industry consumes over half of all water used for all purposes in the United States.
    ( http://www.dbc.uci.edu/~sustain/global/sensem/MeatIndus... )
    http://www.renewableenergyworks.com/sustainability/meat...

    Therefore, if you truly are conservative and you want less government interference in our lives, then you should eat locally, mostly plant based foods, and less fast food.
    Julie_Soller
  • Your core beliefs affect to a great degree whatever choices you make in life, political or not. But this assumption that food choices point to political standpoint is a bit too far removed, and highly unpredictable. However, I am sure if you search for enough particular examples you could find what your theory calls for. I am not so worried about what choices I make reflecting my political standpoint because one I can't vote, but rather this would be one more excuse for agencies to spy on our consumption habits.
    jdchristianson
  • Hmmm... they've figured me out. I eat vegetarian, organic and shop at my local farmer's market. I'm an Obama supporter.
    phoenix_fire999
  • oh my god. i eat like a republican. i hate being the odd man out, will someone please tell me what and how and where i am supposed to be.

    now, where's that bourbon....
    chet_arthur
  • do you think McCain knows what tofu is?
    anniefilm
  • Sounds like total bullshit to me.
    dgreene
  • ...popeyes ....(drools) you can buy whole pickled jalapenos as a side item at popeyes - and the mashed potatoes ... jesus h , i curse the fact that i live in a town where i gotta drive 30 miles to get to a popeyes - even if i was a nazi i'd vote democrat just to get a popeyes here .
    malathion
  • Sorry but my love for Beef Wellington has nothing to do with my descision to vote for Obama. I think we should keep our separation of food and politics.
    B3rt
  • you know , chick-fil-a isn't open on sundays ... i detect a neo-con message here .
    malathion
  • I don't know, but I think some Republicans and Democrats definitely need more fiber in their diets.
    JanforGore
  • What about all the data on porn preference?
    StuntBunny
  • I agree with Danny....total BS! Democrats favor Evian, while Republicans drink Fiji......wtf?!?!? What are you if you just drink tap water?
    Kazaam
  • hmmm...a political system driven on junk food.
    mario_a
  • Well...I'll take a Chic-fil-A sandwich over just about any other fast food sandwich ever.
    Chic-fil-A is f*cking good.

    Also, screw vodka; it has no soul.
    Tequila and whiskey are my buds.


    Methinks this is...well...kindofaloadofcrap.
    Humdrum
  • this is a crock of shit...excuse my vulgarity :)
    Spiral9

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