Physical Wellness

Eating Organic Food Could Make You Harsh to Others

By Jennifer Lee | Update Date: May 19, 2012 01:19 AM EDT

Organic eaters might develop a judgmental attitude, according to a new study. (Original Study)

"There's something about being exposed to organic food that made them feel better about themselves," Kendall Eskine, lead researcher of the study and assistant professor of the department of psychological sciences at Loyola University in New Orleans told MSNBC. "And that made them kind of jerks a little bit, I guess,"

The study involved 60 participants, who were divided into three groups.

One group was shown pictures of organic food, like apples and spinach. Another group was shown comfort food including brownies and cookies. The remaining group, which served as the control, was shown non-organic, non-comfort foods, like rice, mustard and oatmeal.

The subjects were then asked to read a series of vignettes describing moral transgressions and make moral judgments.

The results were stark: The organic people judged the issues much more harshly than the others. On a scale of 1 to 7, participants in the organic food group were like a 5.5 while the controls were about a 5 and the comfort food people were like a 4.89.

The study was published this week in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

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