> thetasig wrote:
> Subject: Food - Opinion - Instinct - Taste - and Change
>
> I'm fairly certain that the choices of food change the way we think -
> change our instincts and our tastes and cause us to eventually defend
> those choices.  Is there a hidden instinct in us that drives us to be
> this way?  Is this a survival tactic?

I remember from my psychology class that there is a tendency for humans such
that, once a belief is formed, it is held onto even in the face of opposing
evidence. I think it was called "belief persistence" or something like that.

What I have come to recognize is that the beliefs we hold onto most
strongly, and thus the hardest to change, are those beliefs that give us the
greatest sense of self worth. If you believe that eating vegetarian makes
you a better person or makes you feel more confident about yourself, then it
will take a great deal of opposing evidence (like failing health) to
convince you to change your belief. This seems to hold true for beliefs
regardless of category (food, lifestyle, religion, etc...)

-Tad