How chemophobia affects public acceptance of pesticide use and biotechnology in agriculture

Saleh, Rita; Bearth, Angela; Siegrist, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104197

Cited by 46 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Fortunately, biocontrol agents and biofertilizers fall in line with current consumer trends, which show a shift away from foods produced using agrochemicals and towards organic foods produced without using agrochemicals [25][26][27]. Not only that, public perception of agrochemicals, particularly of pesticides and herbicides, is becoming increasingly negative [28][29][30], an issue which is compounded by various lawsuits that have been filed against agricultural companies in regard to the health risks associated with pesticide and herbicide applications [210][211][212]. Companies that are developing microbe-based alternatives to traditional agrochemical solutions may begin to see more support from the public, as well as from farmers who are appealing to the organic market.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The application of desert plant endophytes to crops may serve to alleviate some of the problems that the agricultural industry must contend with, both currently and in the future, though special care should be given to ensure that these endophytes will synergize with the new hosts' native microbiomes. A switch from agrochemicals to microbe-based alternatives would also have the added benefit of public support, as evidenced by the increasing consumer demand for organic-certified foods [25][26][27] and the increasingly negative perceptions of chemical pesticides [28][29][30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bioprospecting Desert Plants for Endophytic and Biostimulant Microbes: A Strategy for Enhancing Agricultural Production in a Hotter, Drier Future

Zhang

White

2021

Biology

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Deserts are challenging places for plants to survive in due to low nutrient availability, drought and heat stress, water stress, and herbivory. Endophytes—microbes that colonize and infect plant tissues without causing apparent disease—may contribute to plant success in such harsh environments. Current knowledge of desert plant endophytes is limited, but studies performed so far reveal that they can improve host nutrient acquisition, increase host tolerance to abiotic stresses, and increase host resistance to biotic stresses. When considered in combination with their broad host range and high colonization rate, there is great potential for desert endophytes to be used in a commercial agricultural setting, especially as croplands face more frequent and severe droughts due to climate change and as the agricultural industry faces mounting pressure to break away from agrochemicals towards more environmentally friendly alternatives. Much is still unknown about desert endophytes, but future studies may prove fruitful for the discovery of new endophyte-based biofertilizers, biocontrol agents, and abiotic stress relievers of crops.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioprospecting Desert Plants for Endophytic and Biostimulant Microbes: A Strategy for Enhancing Agricultural Production in a Hotter, Drier Future

Zhang

White

2021

Biology

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“…WTP for NPET-derived foods increases with tangible improvements such as tastier grapes [41,49], improved health benefits [29,38,75], environmental benefits (reduced pesticides, water use) [31,55,76], or improved animal welfare [42,77]. Marginal improvements such as color of grapes or benefits accruing to farmers (more muscle mass on animals) tend to be discounted in NPET valuation experiments [16].…”

Section: Findings On Consumer Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumer Valuation of and Attitudes towards Novel Foods Produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques: A Review

Beghin

Gustafson

2021

Sustainability

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We follow the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews to review the emerging international body of empirical evidence on consumers’ attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) for novel foods produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques (NPETs). NPETs include genome/gene editing, cisgenesis, intragenesis, and RNA interference. These novel foods are often beneficial for the environment and human health and more sustainable under increasingly prevalent climate extremes. These techniques can also improve animal welfare and disease resistance when applied to animals. Despite these abilities of NPETs, evidence suggests that many, but not all, consumers discount these novel foods relative to conventional ones. Our review sorts out findings to identify conditioning factors that can increase the acceptance of and WTP for these novel foods in a significant segment of consumers. International patterns of acceptance are identified. We also analyze how information and knowledge interact with consumer acceptance of these novel foods and technologies. Heterogeneity of consumers—across cultures and borders and in attitudes towards science and innovation—emerges as a key determinant of acceptance and WTP. Acceptance and WTP tend to increase when socially beneficial attributes—as opposed to producer-oriented cost-saving attributes—are generated by NPETs. NPET-improved foods are systematically less discounted than transgenic foods. Most of the valuation estimates are based on hypothetical experiments and surveys and await validation through revealed preferences in actual purchases in food retailing environments.

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“…For this, the CropBooster-P project is currently engaging with society (consumers and other non-expert laymen) in a series of workshops and events to research how complex scientific information can best be shared with the general public as well as different social actors and their perception and attitude towards aspects such as scientific research, plant breeding technology, food security, climate change and biodiversity. This is complemented by surveys among the public and stakeholders, which are already carried out and in progress at national level, for example in Norway, Finland and Switzerland [33][34][35].…”

Section: The Cropbooster Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing the Crops for the Future; The CropBooster Program

Harbinson

Parry

Davies

et al. 2021

Biology

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The realization of the full objectives of international policies targeting global food security and climate change mitigation, including the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement COP21 and the European Green Deal, requires that we (i) sustainably increase the yield, nutritional quality and biodiversity of major crop species, (ii) select climate-ready crops that are adapted to future weather dynamic and (iii) increase the resource use efficiency of crops for sustainably preserving natural resources. Ultimately, the grand challenge to be met by agriculture is to sustainably provide access to sufficient, nutritious and diverse food to a worldwide growing population, and to support the circular bio-based economy. Future-proofing our crops is an urgent issue and a challenging goal, involving a diversity of crop species in differing agricultural regimes and under multiple environmental drivers, providing versatile crop-breeding solutions within wider socio-economic-ecological systems. This goal can only be realized by a large-scale, international research cooperation. We call for international action and propose a pan-European research initiative, the CropBooster Program, to mobilize the European plant research community and interconnect it with the interdisciplinary expertise necessary to face the challenge.

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How chemophobia affects public acceptance of pesticide use and biotechnology in agriculture

Cited by 46 publications

References 70 publications

Bioprospecting Desert Plants for Endophytic and Biostimulant Microbes: A Strategy for Enhancing Agricultural Production in a Hotter, Drier Future

Bioprospecting Desert Plants for Endophytic and Biostimulant Microbes: A Strategy for Enhancing Agricultural Production in a Hotter, Drier Future

Consumer Valuation of and Attitudes towards Novel Foods Produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques: A Review

Designing the Crops for the Future; The CropBooster Program

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