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Id probably say liberals are more apt to eat different things like Indian or African cuisine than conservatives, since the conservatives would spin as we are trying to let the Pakistanis have the nukes or we are pro Obama for wanting to eat African food, since the birthers think that Obama wasn't born in the US at all. So it just proves that Liberals have better taste in food and are smarter when it comes to food and taste. :)

That's the last thing we need--some other way to stereotype.

I clicked on the link expecting a couple of seconds of amusing nonsense, but hoo boy do I ever fit the lefty stereotype!

I'd say there's a correlation more than a causation. it would be interesting to see the data overlaid on a map. It wouldn't surprise me if the regional differences demonstrated a much stronger impact on food choices than political ideology.

This article is painful and disappointing. It's fraught with flaws statistically, socially, geographically and mathematically.

The "I'm better than you" and one-ups-manship I symptomatic of our world's social problems.

For God's sake can I find a single website that isn't politicizing my lifestyle or attempting to categorize me?

I want to laugh, cook and eat a little better.

Most of their correlations are with income, and geographic region, not political affiliation.

pathetic article.

some people just have too much time on there hands. this is not that interesting unless you're one of these people that's always worried about what the "other side" is doing.

their :)

This is an interesting article, albeit poorly executed. I have some responses to those who have commented before me and then I'll share my own thoughts.

@gingercookiewithlime - you're right that political ideology has nothing to do with whether or not you'll LIKE a certain food, but it does play a role in whether you'll ever have the opportunity or be willing to TRY that food. I'll elaborate on this below.

@beth1 - I wouldn't say this is stereotyping per se--it's just that on average, this is what you'd find. I would never say that ALL conservatives like x and ALL liberals like y, it's just that one may be more likely to eat a certain thing than another. It's not an all-or-nothing proposition.

@Ozymandiasxp - there would definitely be a strong geographic component, but that wouldn't tell you anything about conservative vs. liberal food choice because there's a similar geographic clustering of liberals and conservatives. Since much of the midwest and south are conservative majorities, we wouldn't know whether it's region or politics, although I'll argue below that we can tease these apart.

@steelpride - yeah, this obviously isn't any kind of methodologically rigorous study, but it does confirm what a lot of previous research has found: conservatives, compared to liberals, tend to be less open to new experiences and prefer traditional to novelty.

Here are my own thoughts on the subject, based on my knowledge of the relevant research. Based on Jost's work, we know that conservatives and liberals each tend to have particular traits and personality characteristics. Much of it boils down to how open you are to new experiences. Conservatives are more likely to be fixed in their opinions/preferences, while liberals are more likely to accept new ideas and seek out new experiences. I don't want to venture into politics, but if you look at things like gay marriage and healthcare, you can see we could apply these traits to real world issues.

There are a few ways in which this could affect our food preferences. Political ideology is frequently passed down from parents to kids, so a conservative is likely to have conservative parents and liberals have liberal parents. This would, again, on average, result in vastly different early food experiences, such that young conservatives would be more likely to eat the "traditional" foods their parents like and young liberals be more exposed to the openness of their parents' food. Early exposure to diverse foods opens one up to trying new foods later in life, while sticking to a traditional range of foods lessens (but certainly doesn't prevent) the likelihood of trying new things. This also carries into adulthood with similar patterns.

The influence of geography is an interesting argument, but the above referenced research by Jost is based on a meta analysis of people in 12 countries, so these patterns seem fairly universal. Of course there will be conservatives who would absolutely love to try exotic foods but can't because they live in a rural area where these things aren't available, just as there are liberals living in Manhattan who refuse to eat anything other than burgers and hot dogs.

My main point is that this finding isn't an anomaly, and I'm just trying to provide one possible explanation. I'm certainly not going to say that this is definitely the case, but there is empirical work suggesting that it is. Think of it this way: if the people on Hunch had just said "Openness to new experiences predicts trying new foods and preference for tradition predicts trying traditional foods," would that be an easier sell? These are highly linked to political values, so there is truth in it, but it's not political ideology itself that's driving the effect, it's an underlying trait that (likely) influences both food preferences and politics.

I'm a pretty darn conservative girl, and I do love my southern comfort foods. However, I also LOVE trying new cuisines, both at restaurants and in my own kitchen. I'm sure there is some truth behind this article, but plenty of conservatives love fresh veggies, seasonal produce, and ethnic cuisines! I also bet there are plenty of liberals out there that wouldn't touch tofu. Amusing article all the same, though! :)

I'm about as conservative as they come, and I fit mostly into the liberal foodie type. I guess going to an extremely liberal school will do that :)

it's the domino's observation in further detail. Delivery pizza places in DC can figure our which side is working into the night on an issue by what kinds of pizzas are ordered.