Session 5: Nutrition communication: The challenge of effective food risk communication

A chronology of food scares combined with a rapid, unchecked, rise in lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity highlights the need for a focus on effective food risk communication. However, food risk communication is highly complex. Many factors will affect its success, including the demeanour and conduct of the source, its transparency, interaction with the public, acknowledgement of risks and timely disclosure. How the message is developed is also important in terms of language, style and pretesting with target audiences, as is the choice of appropriate channels for reaching target audiences. Finally, there are many personal factors that may affect risk perception such as previous experience, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, personality, psychological factors and socio-demographic factors, many of which remain unexplored. While there is evidence that campaigns that communicate health risk have been associated with behaviour change in relation to major public health and safety issues in the past, it is unknown at this stage whether targeting risk information based on risk-perception segmentation can increase the effectiveness of the messages

Perception of the risks and benefits of bt eggplant by Indian farmers

Several researchers—most notably Lennart Sjoberg and his colleagues—have proposed that the moral aspects of risk provide a better explanation of risk perception than the psychometric paradigm or Cultural Theory, neither of which accounts for moral concerns. This study is possibly the first to assess empirically the perception of the risks and benefits of a transgenic food crop—transgenic Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) eggplant—by farmers in a developing country such as India. It also aims to assess if the moral aspects of risk figure in Indian farmers ’ perception of Bt eggplant and if economic benefits outweigh perceived risks. To answer the research questions, a scenario was used to elicit perceptions of Bt eggplant among 100 eggplant farmers in the state of Maharashtra in India. The findings indicate that economic benefits, safety concerns, and accountability are most salient to Indian farmers’ perception of the risks and benefits of Bt eggplant. Significantly, none of the farmers mentioned moral concerns as an issue. The findings also make clear that economic benefits outweigh perceived risks. This study concludes that economic benefits are more salient than moral concerns to Indian farmers ’ perception Bt eggplant. It also proposes that an alternative theoretical model incorporating economic benefits, safety concerns, and accountability as key variables should be developed and tested for end users in the developing world. KEY WORDS: risk perception, biotechnology, developing countries, farmers 1

Public preferences for informed choice under conditions of risk uncertainty

It has been assumed that the general public is unable to conceptualize<br/>information about risk uncertainties, and so communication about food risk<br/>has tended to avoid this type of information. However, recent societal and<br/>political pressure to increase transparency in risk management practices will<br/>result in the uncertainties inherent in risk analysis becoming subject to public<br/>scrutiny. Best practice regarding risk communication must address how to<br/>communicate risk uncertainty. A questionnaire was developed that aimed to<br/>assess how the general public characterized uncertainty associated with food<br/>risks. The results indicated that people wanted to be provided with information<br/>about food risk uncertainty as soon as the uncertainty was identified. People<br/>were more accepting of uncertainty associated with the scientific process of<br/>risk management than they were of uncertainty due to lack of action or lack of<br/>interest on the part of the government. The findings indicate that the focus of risk<br/>communication should be on “what is being done to reduce the uncertainty.”<br/>Recommendations are made regarding best practice for communicating risk<br/>uncertaint