Aaron M.Shew^aL. LanierNalley^aHeather A.Snell^aRodolfo M.NaygaJr.^abBruce L.Dixon

Global Food Security

Volume 19, December 2018, Pages 71-80

Abstract

CRISPR gene-editing has major implications for agriculture and food security. However, no studies have evaluated the public acceptance and valuation of CRISPR-produced food. As such, we conducted a multi-country assessment of consumers’ willingness-to-consume (WTC) and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for CRISPR-produced food compared to conventional and genetically modified (GM) foods, respectively. In the USA, Canada, Belgium, France, and Australia, 56, 47, 46, 30, and 51% of respondents, respectively, indicated they would consume both GM and CRISPR food. We also found that biotechnology familiarity and perceptions of safety were the primary drivers for WTC CRISPR and GM food. Moreover, respondents valued CRISPR and GM food similarly – substantially less than conventional food – which could be detrimental for meeting future food demand.

See: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211912418300877

Fig. 2. Respondents’ WTC CRISPR and GM-derived food by country. Note: Respondents’ WTC both GM and CRISPR (both), CRISPR (CR) only, GM only, and neither GM nor CRISPR (none) are presented for each country. Consumers were more willing to consume GM and CR-derived food in all countries except for Australia where WTC GM and CR-derived food was statistically similar (p < 0.01). There was also a significant difference in between respondents WTC food produced with both CRISPR and GM technology and those who stated none in all countries (p < 0.05). In all countries except for France, more respondents were WTC both than none. These differences were identified with a Chi-squared test.