ABSTRACT
All too often food is the target of judgment. It is, in perhaps its most basic definition, nourishment required to sustain life, and yet so often in modern times making decisions about food can feel like navigating a minefield. Of course, it makes sense that we are hardwired to evaluate what is “good” or “bad” to eat when it comes to deciphering what is edible and inedible. This would help us survive, for example, guiding us to nutritive options and protecting us from poisonous or spoiled intake. However, in modern times, food-related judgment is rarely about such imminently critical determinations. Instead, we often judge whether or not to eat certain foods based on our judgment of how they will impact our long-term health and mortality. More proximally, we make decisions based on our judgment of how they will impact our weight and appearance.
