Wholesome Foods and Wholesome Morals?: Organic Foods Reduce Prosocial Behavior and Harshen Moral Judgments (Eskine, 2013)
- Recent research has revealed that specific tastes can influence moral processing, with sweet tastes inducing prosocial behavior and disgusting tastes harshening moral judgments.
- Although organic foods are often marketed with moral terms (e.g., Honest Tea, Purity Life, and Smart Balance), no research to date has investigated the extent to which exposure to organic foods influences moral judgments or behavior.
- After viewing a few organic foods, comfort foods, or control foods, participants who were exposed to organic foods volunteered significantly less time to help a needy stranger, and they judged moral transgressions significantly harsher than those who viewed nonorganic foods.
- These results suggest that exposure to organic foods may lead people to affirm their moral identities, which attenuates their desire to be altruistic.
Might this explain why so many drivers run the stop sign when exiting in the back of the (Cville) Whole Foods parking lot? [The last time it happened...and I honked...somebody's cuddly grandma gave me the finger!]
