The edible is the political
May 31, 2011 3:53 AM   Subscribe

Liberals and Conservatives still eat different things.

Hunch updates and expands its previous results now that its user base has grown many times over. Previously.
posted by -->NMN.80.418 (93 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
Expect a war on thin-crust pizzas and gnocchi.
posted by Summer at 4:00 AM on May 31, 2011


Jesus, look at those comments. Conservatives lose their shit at the drop of a hat. "What the fuck do you mean I eat more fucking meatloaf!?!?! Your a fucking communist!!!! FUCKING KENYAN MAU MKAU REVULUTINARY JARED LAUGHTNER IS A SOCIALIST!@#$ CONSERVATIVES ARE SMRTER THAN LIBRULS!@#$"

ugh. I've completely lost my appetite for my curry chicken and vegetable biryani.
posted by stavrogin at 4:10 AM on May 31, 2011 [4 favorites]


I've noticed that liberals (myself included) tend to enjoy sushi alot more than conservatives.
posted by Avenger at 4:11 AM on May 31, 2011


It's funny, as I read this and dip my bistro style chips into my coconut curry I am struck with waves of self doubt. Have I made the right decisions in life? If only I preferred easy to pronounce pasta names.
posted by oxford blue at 4:12 AM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]


I've noticed that liberals (myself included) tend to enjoy sushi alot more than conservatives.
posted by Avenger at 10:11 PM on May 31 [+] [!]

Hello, confirmation bias. Or should I say Konbanwa?
posted by oxford blue at 4:13 AM on May 31, 2011


Conservatives are 33% more likely to prefer deep dish pizza or a thicker crust.

Looks like I'll be voting Palin/Foxsworthy 2012 after all.
posted by Beardman at 4:15 AM on May 31, 2011 [15 favorites]


Hooray for self-reported internet polls?
posted by valkyryn at 4:16 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


"Liberals and conservatives who drink beer prefer a brew that's pale and refreshing."

THIS is the problem with American politics.
posted by Lemurrhea at 4:16 AM on May 31, 2011 [25 favorites]


sushi alot

What does a sushi alot look like? Come to think of it, I suppose the alot looks a lot like some of the fancier special rolls I've eaten anyway ...
posted by kcds at 4:21 AM on May 31, 2011 [5 favorites]


Everyone loves lasagna.

So a perfect meal between liberals and conservative would be a plate of lasagna so long as:

a) the liberal can force the conservative to pay for her meal; and

b) the conservative can take both meals as a write-off.
posted by three blind mice at 4:28 AM on May 31, 2011 [17 favorites]


There wasn't any apparent effort spent on controlling for location : Liberals will obviously like Sushi more than conservatives simply because liberals like big cities more than conservatives and the sushi is vastly superior in big cities.
posted by jeffburdges at 4:29 AM on May 31, 2011 [7 favorites]


Jesus, look at those comments.

Yeah, but I like the guy Hunch hired to respond to the comments:


COMMENT: No, these findings are nowhere near correct. Not in this conservative household. HUNCH: Sorry 'bout that! We'll give you a call in a few minutes to interview you and then we'll change the findings to match your answers.
posted by escabeche at 4:33 AM on May 31, 2011 [16 favorites]


In this thread: People pretend not to understand the difference between description and prescription nor the difference between an individual data point, and the results of statistical operations on several thousand.
posted by Grimgrin at 4:37 AM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]


Who eats quiche?
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:43 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


Over 50% of conservatives don't understand statistics?
posted by Mister Moofoo at 4:45 AM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]


I always thought conservatives ate babies - they are always screaming "think of teh chilllldren" with saliva drooling out.
posted by Old'n'Busted at 4:47 AM on May 31, 2011 [6 favorites]


Liberals walk like this
waggle waggle
Conservatives walk like this
waggle waggle

Am I right?

don't forget to tip your waitress
posted by AndrewKemendo at 4:47 AM on May 31, 2011 [11 favorites]


I eat Whoppers and I vote Democratic.
posted by parmanparman at 4:47 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


Who eats quiche?

All I know is real men don't let other people tell them what to eat.

I just finished a bagel and my six year old likes strawberry jam so obviously the poll is 100% accurate. (For those who say six year olds are too young to be labeled politically, any conservative would say my daughter is a typical liberal as she doesn't have a job and expects everything to be provided to her free of charge. Hell, she would have voted for Nader in 2000 if she had been born yet!)
posted by TedW at 4:50 AM on May 31, 2011 [5 favorites]


the liberal can force the conservative to pay for her meal

Given that, in modern America the deficit largely results from

a) Bush's tax cuts for the rich

and

b) wars started by Bush

... who is paying for whom again? (Also bear in mind that the red states are the overwhelming majority of states that take more than they contribute in terms of taxes vs. social benefits).

To be honest, nowadays, it's ordinary people who are the ones who are paying for the lifestyles of the rich.

Liberals, with all their imperfections, have always been the people most against that kind of predation. It seems like reinforcing a lazy stereotype - or at best, false equivalence - to say that a liberal would want a conservative to pay for anything.
posted by lucien_reeve at 4:51 AM on May 31, 2011 [25 favorites]


Conservatives are 20% more likely to skip breakfast, and 28% less likely to enjoy beer. No wonder they're so grouchy.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 4:51 AM on May 31, 2011 [4 favorites]


Can't we all just eat along?
posted by Benny Andajetz at 4:52 AM on May 31, 2011


Conservatives are 57% more likely not to drink tap water.

I think that one speaks for itself.
posted by TedW at 4:53 AM on May 31, 2011 [21 favorites]


I like how this begins with 'Let's ignore 41% of the poll respondents" and pay attention to those who have more black and white views of the world. Because nuance doesn't sell.
posted by vacapinta at 4:55 AM on May 31, 2011 [4 favorites]


Why did I assume the person Hunch hired to respond to comments was a "guy"? Sorry about that.
posted by escabeche at 4:58 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


Is there anywhere that they report their statistical methods? Do explain how they handle unequal sample sizes (42% of their population was considered liberal and 17% conservative) or as someone noted above how they justify throwing out the 41% "middle of the road"? Are any of the results statistically significant, or is this just what my students do when nothing is significant and so they just report "trends" and then get mad when they get a C for poor data analysis?
posted by hydropsyche at 5:00 AM on May 31, 2011


Most [conservatives] on Hunch don't like beer.

That should have been their tip-off.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:06 AM on May 31, 2011


Conservatives don't like beer? What's wrong with them?
posted by Termite at 5:12 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


But what about hot drinks? I guess most conservatives prefer teabags to loose tea.
posted by Termite at 5:12 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


That's funny, I consider myself very liberal and I eat only the sorrow of my enemies.
And chips.
posted by The Whelk at 5:13 AM on May 31, 2011 [11 favorites]


Wine with curry? Oh, how loutish! I'n handing in my liberal card at once.
posted by Decani at 5:14 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


Everyone knows that conservatives only drink four x moonshine out of large ceramic jugs.
posted by oxford blue at 5:15 AM on May 31, 2011 [6 favorites]


I love that attitude in many of the comments of "my individual data point doesn't match your statistics so you must be a liberal idiot."
posted by octothorpe at 5:15 AM on May 31, 2011


"Liberals and conservatives who drink beer prefer a brew that's pale and refreshing."

THIS is the problem with American politics.


This is the problem with America. FTFY.
posted by COD at 5:27 AM on May 31, 2011


I have a feeling that the Barbecue Party is going to be the one that finally pulls this country together.
posted by Shohn at 5:27 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


Liberals are more than 100% more likely to cook a coconut curry with lamb and rice at home

I obviously don't understand the numbers here. What does this mean?
posted by pompomtom at 5:28 AM on May 31, 2011


The best part was when the poll encompassed "organic" versus "processed" food as though the two were actual opposites. My local markets offer processed food (like box mac and cheese and chips) that say "organic" right on the packaging.
posted by Mayor Curley at 5:30 AM on May 31, 2011 [6 favorites]


You know, I'd almost prefer to accentuate the things we have in common instead of dwell on the things that separate us. There's already more than enough divisiveness.
posted by crunchland at 5:30 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


I eat like a conservative, vote like a liberal, and drink like a fish.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 5:31 AM on May 31, 2011 [27 favorites]


TedW: "Conservatives are 57% more likely not to drink tap water.

I think that one speaks for itself.
"

Mandrake, have you ever heard of a thing called fluoridation. Fluoridation of water?
posted by octothorpe at 5:37 AM on May 31, 2011 [7 favorites]


I get the impression looking over this page that the results are largely items cherry picked for dramatic effect with small sample size and no control for other factors. Also, the way results are presented is often misleading: "Liberals / conservatives are XX% more likely to..." -- "more likely than whom? The total sample; conservatives; a control group; the French? It's not as bullshit as the earlier version, which was just performance art for getting knee-jerk responses to confirmed stereotyping, but still mostly bullshit.
posted by aught at 5:41 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


I love that attitude in many of the comments of "my individual data point doesn't match your statistics so you must be a liberal idiot."

As DU once observed on the blue, there is no more surefire way to make people statistical expert than to present them a conclusion they disagree with.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:43 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


I eat like a conservative, vote like a liberal, and drink like a fish.

You fuck in your beer?
posted by middleclasstool at 5:47 AM on May 31, 2011 [9 favorites]


Everyone knows that conservatives only drink four x moonshine out of large ceramic jugs.

That's only because they have a gig that night, and the old one got busted.

You can also tell liberals from conservatives, because the conservatives' banjos don't hav that commie, pretentious tuning peg halfway up the neck.

As DU once observed on the blue, there is no more surefire way to make people statistical expert than to present them a conclusion they disagree with.

And font experts. And demolitions experts.
posted by gjc at 5:52 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


This liberal thinks bacon cheeseburgers are awesome.
posted by double block and bleed at 5:58 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


You fuck in your beer?

Only on good nights.
posted by adamdschneider at 6:05 AM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]


this reads as "liberals are 100% more likely to kind of annoy me." blegh. but at least we can all extoll the virtues of the soft shell taco!
posted by pintapicasso at 6:07 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


lasagna is overrated. manicotti is where it's at.
posted by nathancaswell at 6:10 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


Summer: "Expect a war on thin-crust pizzas and gnocchi"

You can have my Imo's when you pry it out of my cold, dead, greasy hands.
posted by notsnot at 6:17 AM on May 31, 2011


In this thread: People pretend not to understand the difference between description and prescription nor the difference between an individual data point, and the results of statistical operations on several thousand.

That's not a problem exclusive to that thread.

What immediately occurred to me as I read this infographic is that many of the differences could also be ascribed to an age difference between the population. "Conservative" food reads more like classic mid-century American comfort food to me than "liberal" food: more heavily processed, starch-based, limited fresh fruits and vegetables. "Liberal" food reads more like the foods developed in the last 20-30 years in reaction to mid-century comfort food, with more emphasis on fresh and organics and so on. Diet soda is also a marker; I'm just old enough to remember when all my constantly-dieting mother had to drink was Tab.
posted by immlass at 6:33 AM on May 31, 2011 [3 favorites]


OMG! I'm a liberal!!

Really, this was a fun read but that's about it.
posted by pentagoet at 6:39 AM on May 31, 2011


The biggest piece of sadness is that it appears thousands of Americans don't understand what a survey is. "I'm conservative and I don't like that thing you said I do!!" Um, it's a survey, not a food rule book.
posted by grubi at 6:40 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


Note to Shohn- would that be beef, pork or mutton barbecue that unites the country? Does the accompanying chili have beans in it?
posted by pentagoet at 6:42 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


Yes, but do they like the taste of beer?
posted by Joe Chip at 6:45 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


Interesting. More conservatives than liberals are likely to actually eat liberals. That makes sense. But this was the part I found to be most interesting:

Conservatives are 71% percent more likely to actually eat their own.
posted by flarbuse at 6:52 AM on May 31, 2011


Oh wow, I just rtfa a bit more closely (for some reason the graphic is all grainy on my phone) and apparently conservatives don't like the taste of beer. That explains a lot!
posted by Joe Chip at 6:52 AM on May 31, 2011


Tacos? That's where I'm a nazi.
posted by ob at 6:59 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


This is fun, but not exactly a well-sampled population. There were over twice as many liberals in their sample than conservatives. Seems as though they asked them way too many questions, and then tried to cherry-pick interesting little factoids out of the data -- but the nature of some of these (conservatives are 3% more likely to enjoy seafood) seem pretty insignificant. It makes me think that there really wasn't too much in the way of information in the data set.
posted by phenylphenol at 6:59 AM on May 31, 2011


These "% more likely" surveys always make me think of this.
posted by schmod at 6:59 AM on May 31, 2011


"The intellectual is not one of us. We are ordinary folks, he is a member of an elite. We gravitate around right wing ideas, he's left-leaning. We're family people, he screws men, women and children. We farm, he stays in the city, with his intellectual elite, or on campus, corrupting the minds of our youth. We're religious, but the intellectual is an unbeliever. We run to fat, he stays thin. We're patriots, he's a cosmopolitan, equally at home with foreigners as with his own kind. He puts loyalty to ideas before loyalty to his people. We have the church, he has the liberal media."
posted by acb at 7:17 AM on May 31, 2011


Oh wow, I just rtfa a bit more closely (for some reason the graphic is all grainy on my phone) and apparently conservatives don't like the taste of beer. That explains a lot!

Perhaps a proportion of self-identified conservatives consider expressing too much sensual enjoyment of the world to be decadent or immoral?
posted by acb at 7:23 AM on May 31, 2011


Wow. I'm about as leftist as they come politically and in almost all categories I am a staunch conservative at heart when it comes to food.
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:25 AM on May 31, 2011


Pffft! I mean, who serves pinot noir with a curry? A chicken curry! No wonder the Cons were turned off. I'd rather have a good mealoaf with a coke too.

Now a nice full-bodied white like a grüner veltliner or a piesporter, I could get behind. Pinot with curry? What are we, vulgarians?
posted by bonehead at 7:44 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


bonehead, you need to drink some real pinot noirs :) Try a few from Oregon's Willamette Valley. Seeing pinot noir contrasted with "full-bodied whites" made me chuckle... good pinot noirs are some of the fullest-bodied, richest-tasting wines you'll ever have. (Personal favorite is Domaine Drouhin's in Oregon. OMG, will never forget it, and nor will my wine aficionado friends - they no longer make fun of me touting Oregon red wines.)
posted by fraula at 7:49 AM on May 31, 2011


(Just realized it may be the "red" with "chicken curry" that's setting it off. This is not a hard rule - I've found full-bodied reds to be great with spicy curries. The red's depth is a beautiful contrast to the curry's spice. Whites, on the other hand, even full ones, tend to skim over the spice and mix a bit oddly.)

/liberal, can you tell :o)
posted by fraula at 7:51 AM on May 31, 2011


You fuck in your beer?

It only looks like a waterbed.
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 7:52 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


I have no problem with pinot noirs qua pinot noirs. I do have a problem with serving an overly agressive wine with a more delicate flavour profile. You want to taste the dish, not just the wine, no?

That said there are some lighter reds that would work fine, perhaps even a well chosen Pinot. I'd stick with Gamay, personally.
posted by bonehead at 8:12 AM on May 31, 2011


a waterbed filled with wine sounds like a lost Achewood storyline
posted by The Whelk at 8:18 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


The Whelk: it was really just Lyle passed out on a bag of Franzia
posted by en forme de poire at 8:37 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


Liberals are 39% more likely to consider themselves "foodies"

This is almost enough to make me flee into the arms of conservatives.
posted by triggerfinger at 8:37 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


You know this info's legit cause it's in a fancy jpeg.
posted by America at 8:58 AM on May 31, 2011


lasagna is overrated. manicotti is where it's at.

Baked Ziti.
posted by Ad hominem at 9:52 AM on May 31, 2011


Gnocchi's not even a pasta. Not so clever now are you liberals?
posted by Summer at 9:56 AM on May 31, 2011


I was raised conservative and one day I woke up liberal. I like my beer stout (dark, roasted). Can't stand most of the pale ales.

Also, baked ziti kicks lasagna's ass all over town, and bacon is the sole reason I could never go full veg.
posted by jnrussell at 10:01 AM on May 31, 2011


Liberals prefer crunchy tacos?
Really?
Holy crap do I need to change my political affiliations.
Liberals don't like guns and they eat crunchy tacos.
Wait until my parents find out that I am a Conservative/Republican now. There goes my inheritance.
posted by Seamus at 10:03 AM on May 31, 2011


I bet you would find a higher correlation between location of the test subject and the food eaten than politics of the person and food eaten. I was raised in rural Iowa in a very liberal family and I am even more so, yet, because of where I was raised, the meatloaf and a coke sounds very appealing. I love sushi now that I live on the West Coast but I never had it until I moved away from Iowa and I think McDonalds makes a hell of a french fry.

Plus, as a person who loves her food, I hate to see it politicized. Meatloaf can be wonderful, chicken curry can be wonderful. I'd hate to see the day when I would get looked down on by my liberal friends for serving them yummy meatloaf at a potluck.
posted by Foam Pants at 10:07 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


> I love that attitude in many of the comments of "my individual data point doesn't match your statistics so you must be a liberal idiot."

Well, there are demographic differences between liberals and conservatives. Older people, Southerners and non-urban Westerners are more likely to be conservative. Younger people, urbanites and ethnic minorities are more likely to vote for democrats. These groups also eat different things. So Southern foods are more likely to show up as conservative, but liberals who live in the same areas are also likely to like them. Puerto Ricans are more likely to vote Republican, so Puerto Rican foods like pollo gisado will show up as conservative, as will Brunswick Stew, an almost identical identical southern dish. But Hispanics in the South-West tend to vote for for democrats, though not all that consistently, so South-Western style Hispanic dishes like tamales or carnitas are likely to show up as middle of the road or liberal.

While this kind of fun in a way, it's not like eating meat loaf makes you conservative, or voting for Obama makes you more likely to eat 'ethnic' food. It's just that people who belong to minority ethnic groups or who live in urban areas where there are more ethnic restaurants are more likely to vote for democrats. Foods preferences however have nothing to with why people vote the way they do. This usually has a lot to do with peoples' perceived interests, the parties' positions on affirmative action, business regulations, environmental issues, separation of church and state, and other issues they care about. The correlation with food preferences is coincidental, and pretty obviously so.

The assessment "You must be a liberal idiot" is kind of dumb, unless liberals are claiming the results mean something. But 'this is kind of dumb'? It is kind kind of dumb. It's not fallacious to call a ridiculous abuse of statistics a fallacy.
posted by nangar at 10:09 AM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


jnrussel: … and bacon is the sole reason I could never go full veg.

I've known several people who consider themselves to be baco-vegetarians, eating no meat except bacon. A veggie burger with bacon and sharp cheddar on it turns out to be pretty tasty.
posted by JiBB at 10:36 AM on May 31, 2011


It's just that people who belong to minority ethnic groups or who live in urban areas where there are more ethnic restaurants are more likely to vote for democrats.

I guess another way of putting this is: If there was a sudden demographic shift and nothing else, these preferences might become inverted - with liberals loving steak and potatoes and conservatives loving sushi - which means that the original correlation (political preference/food) was never really there at all.

Sort of a mini-lesson in one of the traps you can fall into when you misuse statistics.
posted by vacapinta at 10:43 AM on May 31, 2011


Foods preferences however have nothing to with why people vote the way they do. This usually has a lot to do with peoples' perceived interests, the parties' positions on affirmative action, business regulations, environmental issues, separation of church and state, and other issues they care about. The correlation with food preferences is coincidental, and pretty obviously so.

I suspect it's not entirely coincidental, but rather that like/dislike of exotic foods and liberal/conservative political views are both influenced by one's level of neophilia (i.e., whether one is attracted to or frightened of novelty). Neophilic people are going to be more adventurous in their dining, whereas neophobes will stay more within a comfort zone. Meanwhile, recent studies have shown that conservatives are more driven by fear.
posted by acb at 10:45 AM on May 31, 2011


"Conservatives are 94% more likely to consider occasional Chinese takeout to be exotic ethnic food."

Couldn't help but LOL at this one. The typical Chinese takeout place is about as 'ethnic' as Taco Bell.
posted by naju at 11:41 AM on May 31, 2011


A veggie burger with bacon and sharp cheddar on it turns out to be pretty tasty.

We have a restaurant around here that calls this "The Hypocrite".
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 11:48 AM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


Huh. So I eat like a conservative and vote like Ralph Nader after his Manchurian Candidate activation.

I'd develop this theme more, but I'm off to get some Spam sliders.
posted by lumpenprole at 11:48 AM on May 31, 2011


I hate this kind of shit. Score another victory for Roger Ailes that we even play along with this divisive nonsense.
posted by Hickeystudio at 12:22 PM on May 31, 2011 [2 favorites]


I've said it before and I'll say it again: show the error bars!

And some alternative hypotheses would be nice too.
posted by d. z. wang at 12:41 PM on May 31, 2011


Couldn't help but LOL at this one. The typical Chinese takeout place is about as 'ethnic' as Taco Bell.

I'd say that the typical Chinese takeout place is slightly less "ethnic" than Taco Bell, if only because in my experience Chinese takeout places are more likely to be staffed by Chinese people than Taco Bells are to be staffed by, um, Mexican people? (Taco Bell's supposed to be an imitation of Mexican food, right?)
posted by madcaptenor at 1:46 PM on May 31, 2011


It is kind of fun to sit around clicking choices for a few hours while I sip Gatorade and make minimal progress toward recovering from a cold/flu/something.

But then I get this question.

Can you usually express yourself better:

In writing


Why is there not a choice for:

These are the same damn thing!

For jerks like myself who don't care that the equation of verbal to oral has been accepted for at least 3 centuries. (I know, I try not to be a prescriptivist, but am happy to admit my hypocrisy.)
posted by bilabial at 2:52 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


bilabial, I think your comment is broken.
posted by madcaptenor at 3:07 PM on May 31, 2011 [1 favorite]


you're right. the second choice was verbally.

Ha.
posted by bilabial at 3:37 PM on May 31, 2011


Conservatives are 57% more likely not to drink tap water.

I think that one speaks for itself.


Gah, I don't get it :\
posted by blargerz at 8:44 PM on May 31, 2011


TAP WATER CONTAINS FLUORIDE
posted by bonehead at 6:33 AM on June 1, 2011


Conservatives are 20% more likely to skip breakfast, and 28% less likely to enjoy beer. No wonder they're so grouchy.

They are also 35% less likely to eat fresh fruit and possibly constipated.

Skipping breakfast is a bad idea. So is conservatism. I'm convinced.

(Taco Bell's supposed to be an imitation of Mexican food, right?)

Isn't most American Mexican food an imitation of Mexican food? Tricky stuff, burritos. (Not that I care one whit about authenticity. I like big, tight burritos with veggies.)
posted by mrgrimm at 9:14 AM on June 1, 2011


TAP WATER CONTAINS FLUORIDE
posted by bonehead at 2:33 PM on June 1


And hooray for that. I stopped having to have fillings after the UK started using fluoride in the tap water. Sometimes adding stuff to what you drink is a good idea. Whisky especially so.
posted by Decani at 11:36 AM on June 2, 2011


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