New Technology and Conflicting Information

The aim of the book is to make the authors' scholarly research in the area of consumers' willingness-to-pay for new foods that have controversial attributes easily assessable to other researchers, students, and food policy makers. It addresses issues that arise in a market with conflicting information from interested parties, scientific sources, and the media. It begins with a discussion of research methods and information issues. These results include how consumers respond to food products that are produced with new technology that lowers farmers' costs of production, enhance nutrition and food safety for consumers, or adds variety to consumers' food choices. These results arise from data collected in a series of laboratory experiments on adult subjects at various sites in the US and consumer surveys worldwide. The data include socio-demographic attributes of subjects, and their revealed willingness-to-pay in auctions of experimental foods and food products under randomly assigned food labels and information treatments and contingent-valuation survey data.

• Introduction and Overview of Book (Wallace E Huffman and Jill J McCluskey)
• Overview of Research Methods and Effects of Information:
  • Using Stated Preference Techniques and Experimental Auction Methods: A Review of Advantages and Disadvantages for Each Method in Examining Consumer Preferences for New Technology (Wallace E Huffman and Jill J McCluskey)
  • Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods (Wallace E Huffman and Jill J McCluskey)
  • Public Acceptance of and Benefits from Agricultural Biotechnology: A Key Role for Verifiable Information (Wallace E Huffman and Abebayehu Tegene)
  • Media Coverage, Public Perceptions, and Consumer Behavior: Insights from New Food Technologies (Jill J McCluskey, Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes, and Johan Swinnen)
• New Traits without Added Nutrition: GM Input Traits, Organic, and All Natural Foods:
  • Consumer Willingness to Pay for Genetically Modified Food Labels in a Market with Diverse Information: Evidence from Experimental Auctions ((Wallace E Huffman, Jason F Shogren, Matthew Rousu, and Abebayehu Tegene)
  • Who Do Consumers Trust for Information: The Case of Genetically Modified Foods? (Wallace E Huffman, Matthew Rousu, Jason F Shogren, and Abebayehu Tegene)
  • Effects and Value of Verifiable Information in a Controversial Market: Evidence from Lab Auctions of Genetically Modified Food (Matthew Rousu, Wallace E Huffman, Jason F Shogren, and Abebayehu Tegene)
  • The Effects of Prior Beliefs and Learning on Consumers' Acceptance of Genetically Modified Foods (Wallace E Huffman, Matthew Rousu, Jason F Shogren, and Abebayehu Tegene)
  • Willingness-to-Pay for Natural, Organic, and Conventional Foods: The Effects of Information and Meaningful Labels (Jonathan R McFadden and Wallace E Huffman)
• Enhanced Nutrition and Food Safety Achieved Using New Technology:
  • Improving the Nutrient Content of Food through Genetic Modification: Evidence from Experimental Auctions on Consumer Acceptance (Gregory J Colson, Wallace E Huffman, and Matthew C Rousu)
  • Consumer Valuation of Information about Food Safety Achieved Using Biotechnology: Evidence from New Potato Products ((Jonathan R McFadden and Wallace E Huffman)
  • Consumer Demand for Low-Acrylamide-Forming Potato Products: Evidence from Lab Auctions (Jonathan McFadden and Wallace Huffman)
  • Consumer Demand for Potato Products and Willingness-to-Pay for Low-Acrylamide, Sulfite-Free Fresh Potatoes and Dices: Evidence from Lab Auctions (Katie Lacy and Wallace E Huffman)
  • Consumer Response to Information About a Functional Food Product: Apples Enriched with Antioxidants (Armenak Markosyan, Jill J McCluskey, and Thomas I Wahl)
• Consumer Response to New Technology in Other Cultures:
  • Russian Consumer Willingness to Pay for Genetically Modified Food (Anthony R Delmond, Jill J McCluskey, Mirzobobo Yormirzoev, and Maria A Rogova)
  • Consumer Attitudes to Genetically Modified Food in Norway (Kristine M Grimsrud, Jill J McCluskey, Maria L Loureiro, and Thomas I Wahl)
  • Consumer Response to Genetically Modified Food Products in Japan (Jill J McCluskey, Kristine M Grimsrud, Hiromi Ouchi, and Thomas I Wahl)
  • Consumer Attitudes Toward Genetically Modified Foods in Beijing, China (Quan Li, Kynda R Curtis, Jill J McCluskey, and Thomas I Wahl)
  • Consumer Response to Information and Second-Generation Genetically Modified Food in India (Alok Anand, Ron C Mittelhammer, and Jill J McCluskey)
• Conclusions and Recommendations
• Conclusion and Recommendations (Wallace E Huffman and Jill J McCluskey)
• Index