Working Paper Review Version 3 This version is not peer-reviewed

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

Version 1 : Received: 24 August 2021 / Approved: 26 August 2021 / Online: 26 August 2021 (11:56:23 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 31 August 2021 / Approved: 2 September 2021 / Online: 2 September 2021 (12:46:50 CEST)
Version 3 : Received: 30 September 2021 / Approved: 1 October 2021 / Online: 1 October 2021 (12:55:10 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Beghin, J.C.; Gustafson, C.R. Consumer Valuation of and Attitudes towards Novel Foods Produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques: A Review. Sustainability 2021, 13, 11348. Beghin, J.C.; Gustafson, C.R. Consumer Valuation of and Attitudes towards Novel Foods Produced with New Plant Engineering Techniques: A Review. Sustainability 2021, 13, 11348.

Abstract

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, RNA interference and others. 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 promising attributes, 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.

Keywords

new plant engineering techniques (NPETs); new breeding techniques (NBTs); genome editing; gene editing; cisgenic; willingness to pay (WTP)

Subject

Business, Economics and Management, Economics

Comments (1)

Comment 1
Received: 1 October 2021
Commenter: John C. Beghin
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author
Comment: Hello,
We just resubmitted a revised version to Sustainability. Note the title nos spells out NPETs as New Plant Engineering Techniques. The supplemental
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