Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Are progressives & red activists really more likely to be gluten-sensitive?

#1
C C Offline
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)
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Research Pregnancy: the more people know about it, the more likely to support abortion access C C 0 54 Jan 25, 2024 05:44 AM
Last Post: C C
  Article Why we should settle Mars (despite the anti-space activists) C C 0 69 Dec 7, 2023 06:29 PM
Last Post: C C
  Article Independents are more likely than partisans to act & believe in negative ways C C 0 72 Sep 25, 2023 06:24 PM
Last Post: C C
  Article Eurosceptics more likely to think of the EU as less democratic than it is (study) C C 0 75 Sep 21, 2023 02:37 AM
Last Post: C C
  UK: Braverman slams activists + UK decries China's assault + UK & US hold drone talks C C 1 105 Oct 19, 2022 11:40 PM
Last Post: confused2
  People who see themselves as ‘professional’ are more likely to behave unethically C C 1 96 Mar 12, 2022 01:33 PM
Last Post: elte
  The older people think a black child is, the more likely they are to wrongly see... C C 1 88 Aug 4, 2021 10:38 PM
Last Post: Syne
  Canada: Radical feminist Megan Murphy on free speech + Trans activists protest Murphy C C 1 436 Oct 31, 2019 10:50 PM
Last Post: Syne
  White police officers are not more likely to shoot minorities C C 3 263 Aug 1, 2019 01:04 AM
Last Post: Syne
  Kenyan farmer: Africa denied biotech revolution due to European activists C C 0 274 Jul 12, 2018 08:51 PM
Last Post: C C



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)