France is Awesome

Lusk, Jayson L., Lisa O. House, Carlotta Valli, Sara R. Jaeger, Melissa Moore, J.L. Morrow, and W. B. Traill. "Effect of Information about Benefits of Biotechnology on Consumer Acceptance of Genetically Modified Food: Evidence from Experimental Auctions in the United States, England, and France." European Review of Agricultural Economics 31.2 (2004): 179-204. Print.



This week I have chosen to write about the article “Effect of information about benefits of biotechnology on consumer acceptance of genetically modified food: evidence from experimental auctions in the United States, England, and France.” The article revolves around a study done on consumers’ willingness to buy genetically modified foods. Curiosity on the subject was sparked when the researchers noted that most people had little information on bioengineered foods, and that the most influential force in consumers’ decision making process came from either opponents or proponents to genetically modified food distribution in the form of advertisements.


The study involved taking a census of the consumers’ attitudes on genetically modified foods, then holding an auction among multiple participants. Some participants were given positive information, or “information treatments,” on genetically modified foods, such as lower pesticide use and improved economic benefits. Those who were given these treatments generally showed a significantly increased acceptance of bioengineered foods. There was also a negative correlation between someone’s prior knowledge and opinion of biotechnology and their ability to be swayed by the information treatments.

The significant part of this, for my future paper, is just how pliable consumers turned out to be in this study, and how much their anxiety about biotechnology influenced their purchasing decisions. This goes a long way to demonstrate that, not only is technophobia brought on by information, but it can be alleviated by the right information as well. While the paper does not go on to say this, one can also suppose that consumer trends ultimately determine and guide the advancement of technology (for instance, if no one buys genetically modified food, there will be no more advancement in that field). From this, we can also infer that technophobia can change the course of technology, and therefore societal development.

I’d recommend this paper to any interested in consumer trends or the economics of genetically modified foods. The article does a lot to explain the effects of advertisement and put them into a clinical environment.

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Complete aside (please don’t factor into grade)

As a side note, France was the only country unaffected by the information treatments. Turns out, they’re propaganda proof. One more reason to love France.