Elsevier

Appetite

Volume 33, Issue 3, December 1999, Pages 343-360
Appetite

Regular Article
Consumers» Cognitions With Regard to Genetically Modified Foods. Results of a Qualitative Study in Four Countries,☆☆,

https://doi.org/10.1006/appe.1999.0267Get rights and content

Abstract

The objective of this research was to gain insight into consumers» attitudes towards genetic modification in food production. With means-end chain theory as the theoretical basis, laddering interviews were conducted with 400 consumers in Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. Perceived risks and benefits of genetic modification in foods were investigated using beer and yoghurt as examples. German and Danish responses revealed more complex cognitive structures than did the results from the United Kingdom and Italy. In all four countries, however, applying genetic modification was associated with unnaturalness and low trustworthiness of the resulting products, independently of whether the genetically modified material was traceable in the product. Moral considerations were voiced as well, as were a number of other consequences that were perceived to conflict with both individual and social values.

References (18)

  • K.G. Grunert et al.

    Measuring subjective meaning structures by the laddering method: Theoretical considerations and methodological problems

    International Journal of Research in Marketing

    (1995)
  • L Bredahl et al.

    Consumers and decision-making with regard to genetically modified food products—a review of the literature and a presentation of models for future research

    Journal of Consumer Policy

    (1988)
  • K Brunsø et al.

    An analysis of national and cross-national consumer segments using the food-related lifestyle instrument in Denmark, France, Germany and Great Britain

    Aarhus: The Aarhus School of Business. MAPP working paper no 35.

    (1996)
  • J.D. Carroll et al.

    Interpoint distance comparisons in correspondence analysis

    Journal of Marketing Research

    (1986)
  • European Commission

    The Europeans and modern biotechnology

    Eurobarometer 46.1. Luxenbourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

    (1997)
  • M Fishbein

    An investigation of the relationship between beliefs about an object and the attitude toward that object

    Human Relations

    (1963)
  • B. Fischoff et al.

    How safe is safe enough? A psychometric study of attitudes towards technological risks and benefits

    Policy Sciences

    (1978)
  • L.J. Frewer et al.

    Ethical concerns and risk perceptions associated with different applications of genetic engineering: Interrelationships with the perceived need for regulation of the technology

    Agriculture and Human Values

    (1995)
  • L.J. Frewer et al.

    Public concerns in the United Kingdom about general and specific applications of genetic engineering: Risk, benefit, and ethics

    Science, Technology & Human Values

    (1997)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (0)

The research reported in this article is part of the project “Consumer Attitudes and Decision-Making with Regard to Genetically Engineered Food Products”, funded by the European Commission through contract no. FAIR-PL96-1667.

☆☆

The author wishes to thank colleagues at the University of Potsdam, the Institute of Food Research and ISIDA for organizing the data collections in Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy and for their kind assistance with the first coding of the data from these countries.

Address correspondence to: Lone Bredahl, MAPP, The Aarhus School of Business, Haslegaardsvej 10, DK-8210 Aarhus V, Denmark. E-mail: [email protected]

View full text