Can Eating Better Cause You To Behave Worse?

The lure of organic foods grown or produced naturally, free of pesticides, hormones, or other chemicals may be healthier, but what’s it doing to our social life? A recent study reveals that exposure to organic foods may, in fact, make individuals judgmental and more likely to be ‘insufferable.’

The study, directed by Kendall Eskine, assistant professor of the department of psychological science at Loyola University in New Orleans, split up 60 people into three groups, each of which were shown different pictures. The first group viewed pictures of ‘organic foods’ (mainly produce), the second group was shown pictures of comfort foods (brownies, cupcakes, cookies, etc.) and the third group looked at pictures of foods that did not fall into either of the previous categories – foods such as rice, mustard and oatmeal.

Afterwards, the participants were given scenarios then asked to make ‘moral judgments’ on a scale from one to seven. The group exposed to organic images scored the situations highest, proving to be much more judgmental than the other two groups.

Another segment asked the subjects how much time (zero to 30 minutes) they would be willing to help a stranger in need. The organic group appeared to be the most selfish, offering an average of 13 minutes. Nearly doubling that time, the comfort food group said they would volunteer 24 minutes and the non-organic, non-comfort group fell in the middle, offering 19 minutes.

Eskine believes that the exposure to organic foods makes people feel better about themselves, ultimately inclining them to act poorly – a phenomenon he calls ‘moral licensing.’ “It’s like when you go to the gym and run a few miles you feel good about yourself, so you eat a candy bar,” Eskine explains. In other words, by making good decisions when eating, it makes people feel as if that is their ‘good deed of the day,’ giving them permission to behave immorally later on.

We think this study seems a bit far-fetched. After all, the subjects were simply shown pictures of produce they were told were ‘organic.’ But what do you think? Is it organic foods that caused the judgmental and selfish behaviors or perhaps just simply healthier foods? Do the foods we consume help dictate our behavior and morals? Or is it our morals and behavior that dictate which foods we consume? Share your opinion with us!