Report on Liberal & Conservative food choices

Ran across this and so posting the link to the report for your amusement or whatever.
Question--surveys like this, waste of time or valid?
www.hunch.com/media/reports/food/

Don't know that I'd call it "valid", but it's entertaining.

I'm all over the place based on this one.

Seems more a function of urban vs. non-urban or upper-middle class vs. working class tastes to me.

And as we know, Conservatives are quite urbane, sophisticated, and upper class.

Reading the fine print at the bottom it states that it was not a valid statistical sample; its from those who go to the hunch website. Plus there is no breakdown by age. It could be that those who respond that are older in age self identify more as conservative which may account for some of the difference.

BTW, I am a member of the Libertarian Party and with little exception, my answers were in line with liberal responses.

I am a member of the Libertarian Party and with little exception, my answers were in line with liberal responses.

Makes sense since liberalism and liberty are the core values of your party.

Plus there is no breakdown by age. It could be that those who respond that are older in age self identify more as conservative which may account for some of the difference..

You think age is more important than class for this survey? It seemed to me to be a classic case of class differences in eating habits. And then attempting to confound 'liberal' preferences with those of the higher class is yet another example of how the political debate has gotten distorted in this country.

"Gotten"? Political debate has always been distorted in this country, Rahsaan.

Just seems more immediate and raw now because we are experiencing it with painful immediacy (and, after all, it is all about us).

And the class division debate has been with us for as long as the country has been with us. The pretense of a "classless society" has existed only since the end of the Gilded Age. Up until then it was a distinctly class-oriented society.

"Gotten"? Political debate has always been distorted in this country, Rahsaan.

Sure, you're right about that.

And the class division debate has been with us for as long as the country has been with us...

But what I find distorted is the way class is obscured and upper-middle-class styles are portrayed as 'liberal', when they are nothing of the sort. This is of course part of the oversimplified red state vs. blue state notion and the successful branding of Democrats as 'coastal elites' when nothing could be further from the truth.

"Gotten"? Political debate has always been distorted in this country, Rahsaan.

Sure, you're right about that.

And the class division debate has been with us for as long as the country has been with us...

But what I find distorted is the way class is obscured and upper-middle-class styles are portrayed as 'liberal', when they are nothing of the sort. This is of course part of the oversimplified red state vs. blue state notion and the successful branding of Democrats as 'coastal elites' when nothing could be further from the truth.

Agree with that, of course. Not that class is obscured, but that it is, as you say, portrayed in a certain simplistic way. And, yes, definitely wrong in its divisions and attributions.

I wonder---and you would be more knowledgeable about this than I, since this is getting into your specialty---that even in this vaunted age of mass commerce and universal communication, the hinterlands are not still severely affected by lack of dense population centers, which would adversely affect traffic to and markets for a more wide ranging set of goods (and thus more intense advertising and directed marketing, which would influence/drive adoption of what are considered the more esoteric, or "liberal", items).

If there's not a perceived market density for those goods, the hinterlanders would see those goods as "other"..and therefore effete and liberal. See what I'm getting at?

If there's not a perceived market density for those goods, the hinterlanders would see those goods as "other"..and therefore effete and liberal. See what I'm getting at?

Yes. But I still see 'hinterland' in this case as a class issue. Because we all know that there are plenty of rich rural areas (e.g. Vail) where you can find all the fancy food items in this survey and there are not too many Pret a Manger chains in the inner city ghettos.

In fact, food choices in those inner city ghettos look pretty similar to what you find in the poor rural areas. Perhaps slight differences in ethnic options, but same issues in terms of quality, preponderance of fried foods, etc. (Of course urban poverty is different because you're usually only a mass transit ride away from other options, but that's a different story).

I bet if you did a survey of people consuming the various 'liberal' food choices in this survey, the majority would actually be Republican voters. Because the majority of the supposed 'liberal' food choices in this survey are actually upper-middle-class food choices and the majority of upper-middle-class people are Republicans.

For the red state/blue state voting thing, I think this is a very good book on exactly how class is relevant for understanding the divide:

http://www.amazon.com/Red-State-Blue-Ri ... 069113927X

"Gotten"? Political debate has always been distorted in this country, Rahsaan.

Sure, you're right about that.

And the class division debate has been with us for as long as the country has been with us...

But what I find distorted is the way class is obscured and upper-middle-class styles are portrayed as 'liberal', when they are nothing of the sort. This is of course part of the oversimplified red state vs. blue state notion and the successful branding of Democrats as 'coastal elites' when nothing could be further from the truth.

Perhaps we can agree that it is well nigh time to dispense with the antiquated labels "liberal" and "conservative" since their original 19th C meanings have long since been corrupted beyond all recognition. Of course, then we can endlessly argue about what labels should replace them for the current political divide, or even whether a dualistic system really describes the contemporary political landscape? BTW, their eating habits aren't easily divided, either. Certainly, the locavore movement is centered upon the left-leaning side of our political spectrum, but as you say it's got more to do with class distinctions than politics. Too complex for me. I'll just stick to complexity vs. purity

Mark Lipton

Of course, then we can endlessly argue about what labels should replace them for the current political divide, or even whether a dualistic system really describes the contemporary political landscape?

Thank goodness! At least we know there is an endless market for political scientists, regardless of higher education cutbacks

Who drinks cream with their coffee and who drinks milk? Which one is the choice of the elite?

Who drinks cream with their coffee and who drinks milk? Which one is the choice of the elite?

Don't know if I'm of the elite or not, but when it comes to coffee the most I'll do is macchiato - a bit of foam on the espresso. As to sugar...heck, I dont add that to my wine either!


Best
Rogo

Who drinks cream with their coffee and who drinks milk? Which one is the choice of the elite?

We Independents use half-and-half.

I'm not a wussy wimp; I'm a true Murcan. I drink it black.

I'm not a wussy wimp; I'm a true Murcan. I drink it black.

Nah, true Murcans drink it brown, Larry. It's only us Europhilic eleets that drink coffee black, er I mean café noir

Mark Lipton