Regulations Affect our Choice of Genetically Modified Food
By Ashkan Pakseresht
Results from new research at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) show that political contexts affect consumers' acceptance of genetically modified food.
In Europe, it is quite common that consumers are against genetically modified (GM) foods. This has been used to support the prevailing restrictive policy. However, a Eurobarometer survey in 2010 stated that Europeans have now become more positive about biotechnology in general because of increased care for energy and sustainability. The increased optimism previously had no great significance, but the European Commission recently proposed new rules, which will allow member states to release European approval for foodstuffs derived from biotechnology. This policy change allows Member States to use an unlimited or case-specific moratorium on commercial release of GM foods in their respective territories and territories. The rules can therefore vary rapidly between different Member States,
A number of experiments were carried out in Sweden to test whether the changed policy and acceptance of companies early in the processing chain affect consumers' views on a GM product with direct and tangible health benefits and indirect environmental benefits. The results showed that the acceptance was lower in more restrictive political scenarios and higher in less restrictive contexts. In addition, the acceptance of companies early in the chain was dependent on the political context, and it varied between participants against or acceptance of the technology. These studies show that consumers capture information about actions taken by upstream actors in the food chain and adjust their choices to their actions.
The study has been published in the journal European Review of Agricultural Economics entitled Consumer Consumption of Food Biotechnology based on policy context and upstream acceptance: evidence from an artefactual field experiment .
The project is funded by Mistra Biotech
