Consumer acceptance of new plant-breeding technologies: An application to the use of gene editing in fresh table grapes

Abstract

This study estimates consumers’ willingness to pay for specific product (quality) and process (agronomic) attributes of table grapes, including taste, texture, external appearance, and the expected number of chemical applications, and for the breeding technology used to develop the plant. Considering varietal traits, on average our survey respondents were willing to pay the highest price premiums for specific offers of improvements in table grape taste and texture, followed by external appearance and expected number of chemical applications. Considering breeding methods, on average our respondents were willing to pay a small premium for table grapes developed using conventional breeding rather than gene editing (e.g., CRISPR). Results from a latent class model identify four different groups of consumers with distinct preferences for grape quality attributes and breeding technologies. The group of consumers most likely to reject gene editing considers both genetic engineering and gene editing to be breeding technologies that produce foods that are morally unacceptable and not safe to eat.

Investigating consumer stated preferences for orange juice: The influence of behavioral traits

“…We identified four distinct consumer segments with significant differences in preferences. This supports preceding work that identified unique groups in consumer preferences for food biotechnology (Paudel et al, 2021;Uddin et al, 2021). Our consumer segments differed in their preference for price, consistency, origin, and production method, and were also described by various behavioral/demographic traits.…”

“…They are also the only group that prefers GM to GE, implying they are more accepting of older than newer technology. Educational campaigns about the safety of GE may help reduce the aversion of these consumers toward novel technology, since multiple studies found concerns about food safety to be a major factor driving consumer aversion toward biotechnology (Uddin et al, 2021).…”

Would consumers accept CRISPR fruit crops if the benefit has health implications? An application to cranberry products

“…Literature states that consumers' perception of genetic engineering is influenced by information available, prior knowledge, perceived risks and benefits, and individual characteristics (Hu, House and Gao 2022;Uddin et al 2022). Focusing on the effects of information, studies have analyzed different aspects, such as narrative style when presenting the information (Yang and Hobbs 2020;McFadden et al 2021); and the effects of trust on the sources of the information (Paudel et al 2023).…”