Universidad de Talca (Chile). Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias
Abstract
152 p.
Georg-August-University of Göttingen, GermanyA study was carried out in Germany in order to assess the consumers’ acceptance
of GM foods with health benefits. Employing a Structural Equation Model (SEM), it was
determined what factors influence over the acceptance of GM food, and how do these
factors interact among them. The sample consisted in 183 students from the University
of Göttingen, who were approached using a “mall interception” methodology in the
University’s principal lunch room. Respondents were asked to state their willingness to
consume three different hypothetical GM products (GM yoghurt drinks, GM bread, and
GM eggs) that contained Omega-3 fatty acids, which were described as helping reduce
the risk of having a coronary heart disease, and costing the same as their traditional
counterpart. Results show that the inclusion of a health benefit increases the acceptability
of GM foods, when its source does not involve animals like in the case of the GM eggs.
In addition, the SEM model shows that there are two factors that have a direct influence
over the acceptance of GM food with health benefits, which are the respondents’ attitude
towards biotechnology, and their price consciousness. There were other factors that also
have an effect over the acceptability of GM foods in an indirect way, through their
influence over the attitude towards biotechnology. These indirect factors were the
respondents’ health consciousness, their attitude towards organic, and their attitude
towards functional foods. These findings should be validated using a sample that is
representative of the general consumers in Germany
