Consumers’ acceptance of genome edited food and the role of information

Abstract

The application of biotechnology and genetics to plant science and agronomy is at the basis of the new breeding techniques, including Genome Editing (GE). A choice experiment was undertaken to investigate Italian consumers’ preferences for bread made with gene-edited wheat. Respondents were randomly assigned one of the two versions of a questionnaire, including either a neutral or negatively biased definition of GE. Results demonstrate that the information effect is limited, which confirms that consumers are struggling to understand new breeding techniques. The scientific community should therefore develop better communication strategies for society to comprehensively understand biotechnologies and support policymakers in the definition of informed regulations.