Consumer Responses to Biotechnology Declarations on Food Boxes: Discrepancies Between General Attitudes and Specific Product Evaluations

• In Event: ICA Interactive paper/Poster Session I
  In Interactive Paper Session: Environmental Communication Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

Communicating technological innovation to consumers to enable informed decisions remains a challenge, given the heuristic information processing and lack of background knowledge of most people. The present research addresses the effects of using biotechnology labels on food product boxes (ice-cream packages in our case) on consumer evaluations. For this research purpose, we compare self-reported, abstract attitudes towards biotechnology for aroma production in the food industry obtained from a representative regional survey in Germany (N = 500, study 1) with an experimental test of consumer responses to a specific product that carries biotechnology information labels (N = 173, study 2). Findings suggest some discrepancies between abstract attitudes and specific product evaluations, and biotechnology labels have little impact on consumers in a simulated product choice situation.

Authors

• Christoph Klimmt, Hannover U of Music, Drama, and Media

• Stefanie Wahl, Freie U Berlin

• Sophie Bruns, Hanover U of Music, Drama, and Media

• Thomas Scheper, Leibniz U Hanover

• Beate Schneider, Hanover U of Music, Drama and Media