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Labelling Genetically Modified Food: Heterogeneous Consumer Preferences and the Value of Information
Author(s) -
Hu Wuyang,
Veeman Michele M.,
Adamowicz Wiktor L.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
canadian journal of agricultural economics/revue canadienne d'agroeconomie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.505
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1744-7976
pISSN - 0008-3976
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7976.2005.04004.x
Subject(s) - labelling , context (archaeology) , food labelling , value (mathematics) , genetically modified organism , business , genetically modified food , food products , food labeling , marketing , economics , public economics , food science , biology , statistics , mathematics , paleontology , biochemistry , gene
One facet of public debate associated with genetically modified (GM) food focuses on labelling policy for products derived from GM processes. This paper reports on the analysis of effects on consumers' choices of pre‐packaged sliced bread under different GM food labelling policies. Substantial heterogeneity is found to exist among consumers' tastes for various bread attributes, including the presence/absence of GM ingredients in bread products. A simulation‐based bias‐adjusted measure is applied to estimate the value of information, as opposed to the value of the presence or absence of GM ingredients, revealed to consumers by different labelling procedures for the GM attribute. The information that is provided in a mandatory labelling context is considerably more valued by consumers than the information provided in a voluntary labelling context. In a final section, estimated consumer benefits from labelling policies are expressed in terms of average market prices for bread products, providing a measure of benefits against which potential cost increases that may be associated with labelling policies may be compared in the context of any future benefit–cost analysis of GM labelling.