A study has revealed that children tend to prefer foods they believe to be natural over human-made options, rating them higher in terms of taste, safety, and desire. Researchers state that the adult inclination towards preferring natural food is well-documented; however, the latest findings indicate that this food bias also exists in early and middle childhood.
Researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Yale examined the preferences of over 374 adults and children in the United States when presented with apples and orange juice while informing them of the origins of these items. In one study, 137 children aged 6 to 10 were shown three apples and told that one was grown on a farm, one was made in a lab, and one grew on a tree inside a lab. The team used questionnaires and statistical models to assess the children's preferences for the apples based on perceived taste, safety, and desire to eat them, with adults participating in the same study for comparison across age groups.
The researchers found that both children and adults preferred the apple they believed to have been grown in natural farms over those grown in laboratories. Children were more likely to mention freshness, being outside, or sunlight when thinking about why they chose the farm apple, while adults were more inclined towards nature.
In a second study, four different types of orange juice were presented to 85 children aged 5 to 7 and a group of 64 adults. One type was described as farm-pressed, one without any information, one said to have chemicals removed, and one described as containing added chemicals. The researchers discovered that information about the naturalness of the juice significantly influenced its rating, with participants drawn to the more natural option based on taste, safety, and desire to consume.
Both studies showed that age had a minimal effect on the outcome, as children under five and those around ten responded similarly. The researchers indicate that the belief that natural foods are good can be evident by the age of five, and possibly even younger. Dr. Mattie Wilkes stated, "Overall, we provide evidence that our tendency to prefer natural food, at least in the United States, exists in childhood. This research is a first step toward understanding how these preferences are formed, including whether they are socially learned and what drives our inclination to prefer natural things."
