You are what you eat: A social media study of food identity

Food preferences not only originate from a person’s dietary habits, but also reflect personal values and consumer awareness. This study addresses food identity' or the relationship between food preferences and personal attributes based on the concept of food left-wing’ (e.g., vegetarians) and `food right-wing’ (e.g., fast-food lovers) by analyzing social data using information entropy and networks. The results show that food identity extends beyond the domain of food: The food left-wing has a strong interest in socio-environmental issues, while the food right-wing has a higher interest in large-scale shopping malls and politically conservative issues. Furthermore, the social interactions of food left-wing and right-wing factions show segregated structures, indicating different information consumption patterns. These findings suggest that food identity may be applicable as a proxy for personal attributes and offer insights into potential buying patterns.