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The political ideology of food

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  • Lusk, Jayson L.

Abstract

Using data from a survey of over 700 Americans, we sought to measure and investigate the nature of citizen’s political ideologies in relation to food. Results reveal that a majority of respondents can be classified as “food statists,” desiring more government action in the realm food and agricultural relative to the status quo. People’s ideologies with regard to food were multidimensional, falling along lines related to food health and quality, food safety, and farm subsidies. Respondents were most in favor of additional government action related to food safety. Food ideology was related to conventional measures of political ideology with, for example, more liberal respondents desiring more government involvement in food than more conservative respondents, but the relationship was far from determinative, suggesting food ideology represents a unique construct in its own right.

Suggested Citation

  • Lusk, Jayson L., 2012. "The political ideology of food," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 530-542.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:37:y:2012:i:5:p:530-542
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2012.05.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Ellison Brenna & Lusk Jayson L & Briggeman Brian, 2010. "Other-Regarding Behavior and Taxpayer Preferences for Farm Policy," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(1), pages 1-29, October.
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    Cited by:

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    7. Britwum, Kofi & Noblet, Caroline L. & Evans, Keith S., "undated". "More Farms on The Water? U.S Consumers’ Perceptions of Aquaculture Practices and Products," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 273824, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Oh, Seojeong & Gramig, Benjamin M., 2025. "Pay the polluter or polluter pays? A preliminary assessment of public preferences for water quality policy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    9. Britwum, Kofi & Bernard, John C., 2018. "A field experiment on consumer willingness to accept milk that may have come from cloned cows," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1-8.
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    14. Wanki Moon & Gabriel Pino, 2018. "Do U.S. citizens support government intervention in agriculture? Implications for the political economy of agricultural protection," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(1), pages 119-129, January.

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