Consumers’ Resistance to GM-Foods:
The Role of Information in an Uncertain Environment
By Wallace E. Huffman,
M. Rousu, J.F. Shogren, and A. Tegene
During the post-World War II era, the standard of living has risen steadily in the developed countries. One reason has been the steady introduction and adoption of new goods. Consumers, however, have not accepted all seemingly useful goods,, e.g., the Ford Edsel, electricity from nuclear power, irradiated meat and poultry. Also, during the 19th century in Europe, Luddites destroyed new machines for knitting and textile
manufacturing, smashed threshing machines, and pasteurized milk also experienced major opposition.
In the 21st Century, agricultural biotechnology has real potential for creating new, welfare-improving products. However, Greenpeace, Friends-of-the-Earth and other groups have been vocal in their opposition to GM-foods. This paper examines the market characteristics that push a consumer to resist GM foods, with emphasis on negative information and independent, third-party information. We show that negative GM-information pushes some consumers out of the market for GM-labeled foods and that independent third-party information dampens the effectiveness of negative information and increase the probability that consumers will value GM-foods positively.
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