The “Green of Beans” article and most of the class assert that bright green beans are more appealing than yellowish or brown beans. I agree, but wondered why. Why do green beans just look more appetizing when they are vibrantly green? Does the vibrancy of green beans signal to us that they are more nutritious? Certainly, the appearance of food signals its healthfulness at times. Moldy green beans, green beans that are shriveled or have holes in them look gross, and are not eaten. This prevents us from getting sick. If the appearance of food elicits disgust, it may be our body trying to protect us from illness. I tried to figure out if greener beans were healthier, but didn’t find anything. I think it is more than likely that green beans pretty much have the same nutritional content, despite their color. But I still wonder why people find greener beans more appealing.
Overall, this phenomenon reminded me of an interesting finding I learned about in my evolutionary psychology class last year. The finding also has to do with our feelings towards food protecting us from illness. Read fourth paragraph of this article.
To summarize this article: pregnant women experience the most nausea (morning sickness) when the embryo is most vulnerable to “teratogens.” Teratogens are agents (drugs, alcohol, food pathogens) that can cause malformation of an embryo. By having morning sickness, a pregnant woman’s body is protecting her baby from potential harm.
With this evolutionary psychological lens, I find our feelings on the greenness of beans interesting.
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