Moralization of Food
Much like smoking, food is also highly moralized in the United States. As mentioned previously, people are viewed in good moral standing when they lead healthy lives. In today’s fast paced society, too often people rely on fast food for substance. With the boom of the organic movement, we have begun to moralize foods that previously were considered neutral and merely as a means for survival. “Moralization converts preferences into values, and in doing so influences cross-generational transmission (because values are passed more effectively in families than are preferences), increases the likelihood of internalization, invokes greater emotional response, and mobilizes the support of governmental and other cultural institutions” Smoking within the United States has become moralized and in turn, smokers are being compared to meat eaters. Many Americans find the act of eating meat to be immoral. A study conducted by Rozin showed that there is a tendency for disgust toward meat to be associated with moralization as opposed to health motivations. Rejection of animal products as food is a contemporary example of moralization.
Read more about this topic: Moral Psychology
Famous quotes containing the word food:
“That food has always been, and will continue to be, the basis for one of our greater snobbisms does not explain the fact that the attitude toward the food choice of others is becoming more and more heatedly exclusive until it may well turn into one of those forms of bigotry against which gallant little committees are constantly planning campaigns in the cause of justice and decency.”
—Cornelia Otis Skinner (1901–1979)