https://theconversation.com/gluten-sensi...all-123334
EXCERPT (Trey Malone): . . . As researchers of food politics, Bailey Norwood and I often focus on how different market segments’ perceptions influence their food choices. We decided to investigate the demonization of gluten – and our empirical analysis suggests that gluten sensitivity affects people of all political persuasions.
[...] The contention that gluten sensitivity goes along with liberalism takes the debate even further. If this were true, it would have serious implications for policy decisions and food marketing strategies. It would imply that gluten sensitivity is not strictly a medical condition but a social construct, which would not require the same regulatory concern as other health conditions.
To conduct our analysis, Norwood and I asked 1,086 U.S. consumers four questions about their perceptions of gluten. We created a “gluten aversion index” by adding up each person’s responses. A score of 4 would indicate that the respondent was not at all gluten avoidant, while a score of 28 would indicate that the respondent was extremely gluten avoidant. After removing the surprisingly high 3.7% of individuals who told us they’d been clinically diagnosed with celiac disease, we looked at the linkage between political ideology and gluten sensitivity.
Contrary to the common stereotype, we found no evidence that the political left is more likely to report being gluten sensitive. In fact, when we divided our sample by preferred president of the past few decades, those who selected Donald Trump were also the most likely to identify as gluten avoidant. So if progressive liberals aren’t actually more gluten sensitive, how does the perception take hold? [...] It’s not clear why gluten sensitivity became intertwined with stereotypes about liberal progressives. In fact, even far-right extremist websites such as Infowars have been known to advocate for gluten-free diets.
While we find no evidence of a clear separation between the self-reported gluten sensitivity of liberals and conservatives, it is likely that politically polarizing topics have compromised other food choices. Consider climate change and meat consumption. Vegans and vegetarians are already more likely to identify as liberal. Given the heavy emphasis placed by media on reducing meat consumption as a metric for consciousness regarding climate change, some evidence suggests that meat consumption increasingly can be divided along party lines. [...] In 2012, Barack Obama won 77% of the counties with a Whole Foods and a meager 29% of Cracker Barrel counties, after all. (MORE - details)
EXCERPT (Trey Malone): . . . As researchers of food politics, Bailey Norwood and I often focus on how different market segments’ perceptions influence their food choices. We decided to investigate the demonization of gluten – and our empirical analysis suggests that gluten sensitivity affects people of all political persuasions.
[...] The contention that gluten sensitivity goes along with liberalism takes the debate even further. If this were true, it would have serious implications for policy decisions and food marketing strategies. It would imply that gluten sensitivity is not strictly a medical condition but a social construct, which would not require the same regulatory concern as other health conditions.
To conduct our analysis, Norwood and I asked 1,086 U.S. consumers four questions about their perceptions of gluten. We created a “gluten aversion index” by adding up each person’s responses. A score of 4 would indicate that the respondent was not at all gluten avoidant, while a score of 28 would indicate that the respondent was extremely gluten avoidant. After removing the surprisingly high 3.7% of individuals who told us they’d been clinically diagnosed with celiac disease, we looked at the linkage between political ideology and gluten sensitivity.
Contrary to the common stereotype, we found no evidence that the political left is more likely to report being gluten sensitive. In fact, when we divided our sample by preferred president of the past few decades, those who selected Donald Trump were also the most likely to identify as gluten avoidant. So if progressive liberals aren’t actually more gluten sensitive, how does the perception take hold? [...] It’s not clear why gluten sensitivity became intertwined with stereotypes about liberal progressives. In fact, even far-right extremist websites such as Infowars have been known to advocate for gluten-free diets.
While we find no evidence of a clear separation between the self-reported gluten sensitivity of liberals and conservatives, it is likely that politically polarizing topics have compromised other food choices. Consider climate change and meat consumption. Vegans and vegetarians are already more likely to identify as liberal. Given the heavy emphasis placed by media on reducing meat consumption as a metric for consciousness regarding climate change, some evidence suggests that meat consumption increasingly can be divided along party lines. [...] In 2012, Barack Obama won 77% of the counties with a Whole Foods and a meager 29% of Cracker Barrel counties, after all. (MORE - details)