Any U.S. consumer walking down the supermarket aisle will find berries, tomatoes, and other vegetables that are labeled “responsibly grown,” “farmworker-assured,” and “fair-trade certified.”

But behind the labels, the Mexican workers who harvest these fruits and vegetables live and labor in conditions they call “twenty-first century slavery.”

  • davelAEnglish
    9·
    10 months ago

    Marketing gimmicks to overcharge the left-liberal market segment that shops by vibes. We don’t need labels so consumers can performatively shop, we need laws that are enforced.

    • Immersive_Matthew@sh.itjust.works
      2·
      10 months ago

      I do not understand your reply as marketing is often not aimed at one particular political ideology when it comes food. I agree that there needs to be enforced laws here more than anything as corporations are going to choose profits over people every time because if they do not, their competition will.

      • davelAEnglish
        2·
        10 months ago

        marketing is often not aimed at one particular political ideology when it comes food

        Food is no different than any other product to marketers.

        Political ideology shapes heterogeneous preferences for food values

        Highlights

        • We study the relationship between political ideology and food values.
        • Conservatism is positively related to naturalness and tradition.
        • Conservatism is negatively related to environmental impact.
        • Marketing and policy interventions should be tailored according to consumers’ political ideology.

        […]

        Conservatives tend to place less importance on pro-social and pro-environmental labels, such as fair trade and green identity. Boeuf (2019) reports no significant differences between liberals and conservatives in perceived health risks associated with food. Utilizing the food-related lifestyles instrument, Witzling and Shaw (2019) postulate that liberals are more likely to cook frequently and try new dishes or recipes, while conservatives value convenience and lower prices. Differences between conservatives and liberals also extend to food-related personality traits. Conservatives exhibit higher levels of neophobia (i.e., aversion towards unfamiliar food), due to their aversion towards foreigners. Conservatives further demonstrate higher levels of gluten avoidance. In terms of food waste, Mas, Haws, and Goldsmith (2022) find that liberals are more inclined to reduce food waste. Concerning food policies, conservatives generally favor fewer regulations and place less emphasis on food safety, quality, and health, while liberals tend to support animal welfare legislation. Nonetheless, there is some convergence of opinion on certain policy issues, including food safety and local food.

        • Immersive_Matthew@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          10 months ago

          Thanks for the paper. I wonder though how often politics really is on the marketing boardroom table when talking about food. There are so many ways to slice and dice the food market that surely politics is one way, but for food, it seems that products naturally gravitate towards a political type of person based on their own attributes already that the marketing is just calling out like “organic”, “sustainable”, “traditional” etc. Like a foreign food for instance according to the linked paper would not appeal as much to conservative people so why even put that spin on it. Just market the foreign food to those who love foreign food including some who will identify as conservatives. Maybe I just missed the messaging at the grocery store. Are there some good examples I can review?

          • davelAEnglish
            1·
            10 months ago

            Marketers don’t slap a “For Liberals!” sticker on an item; it’s almost never that crass or blatant. Instead they put the item on the shelves of Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, stores where liberals tend to shop; they package it in environmentally-friendly packaging; and they slap a “Fair Trade!” sticker on it. I imagine this market segmentation stuff is taught in marketing schools.