Ugh! This is so true and upsetting all at once. Take a moment to read about this study.
…For these studies, the wrappers of 155 PowerBars were modified to say either “Contains 10 grams of protein” or “Contains 10 grams of soy protein.” The only difference between the two labels was one prominent, three-letter word, “soy.” In reality, there was no soy protein in this PowerBar. Exactly zero. It was a phantom ingredient. If after eating one of these PowerBars, people believed they tasted soy, they would be mindlessly responding to the power of suggestion.
OK, just to recap, there is NO SOY in these bars. Some just claimed to have in on the label.
People were given the bars (which were introduced as a new product) and asked to take a look at the package, and then to try them. The people who ate the bars with the label “Contains 10 grams of protein” described the bars favorably: They said they were chocolaty, chewy, and tasty. The other people, the ones who had been given the bars with “10 grams of soy protein” were not so positive. Many spit out the bar, or excused themselves to get a drink of water. One man passed a piece of gum to his wife so that both could get the taste out of their mouths. When asked what they thought, they claimed that the bars had a bad aftertaste, were chalky, and didn’t even taste like chocolate.
I have experienced this in real life. Most people who eat at my house are eating a soy product. I usually choose not to share this information (I know they aren’t allergic or anything) because as soon as they find out, people start complaining about aftertastes or something being “off”. When they don’t know, they go on and on about how its the best ____ they’ve ever had. I’ve even had it where people were asking for fourths or fifths of a dish and asked about ingredients and I’d mention soy-something and they’d change their mind on wanting more. Rawr!
Apparently soy has two strikes when you’re dealing with men, because they also think it is a sissy food.
…We soon discovered that personality identification explains why it’s harder to get men to eat soy than women. To the strong, traditional, macho, biceps-flexing, all-American male, red meat is a strong, traditional, macho, biceps-flexing, all-American food. Soy is not. To eat it, they would have to give up a food they saw as strong and powerful, like themselves, for a food they saw as weak and wimpy.
Hel-lo, if you feel that you are not macho enough to eat soy, then methinks the soy is not the issue, my friend.
Listen, I don’t think soy is the perfect food. I think that many of the fake meats and such are quite nutritionally questionable. Still, I find it pretty fascinating that people have such a strong reaction to soy. Its in practically everything we eat, but somehow it spooks people out. Its so strange.
I love studies like that.
I’m wondering what they *told* the participants the reason for the study was – because it couldn’t be to see if the ‘soy bars’ were just like the ‘normal bars’ (unless they were counting on the people not realizing that the labels would contaminate such a study).
But really, this all boils down to ‘what you look for, you will find – whether it’s there or not’.
~PS
That’s so strange, because I personally think soy, and especially tofu, takes on the flavor of whatever it’s cooked with really well. It’s almost like it disappears into the dish.