Food choice ideologies: the modern manifestations of normative and humanist views of the world

Two studies examined whether everyday food choice motives (FCMs) and abstract values constitute food choice ideologies (FCIs), whether these ideologies reflect the same normativism–humanism polarity as Tomkinsʹ theory suggests to reflect ideologies in general, and whether various dietary groups endorse FCIs in different ways. In Study 1, 82 female participants filled in the Food Choice Questionnaire, a short version of Schwartzʹs Value Survey, and Tomkinsʹ Polarity Scale. The results reflected four FCIs: ecological ideology (EI), health ideology (HI), pleasure ideology (PI) and convenience ideology (CI). Study 2 (N=144) replicated the results for ecological and health ideologies but not for pleasure and convenience ideologies. In both studies, EI, which was typical for vegetarians, was associated with a humanist view of the world, whereas HI was related to a normative view of the world. The results suggest that food choice has become a new site where one expresses oneʹs philosophy of life.