Proactive consumer consultation: the effect of information provision on response to transgenic animals

Abstract

Abstract A national study is reported which proactively engaged 1365 Canadian consumers and solicited their opinions concerning new transgenic salmon and pork products which have not yet entered the marketplace. Respondents were methodically requested to provide initial free‐association responses, and then scaled responses to product concepts about which progressively more information was revealed. This combined qualitative and quantitative method was pursued in order to determine initial knowledge levels and subsequent responses with a minimal amount of cueing via question probes. The results indicate that disclosure concerning benefits and risks of these new technologies did not harm judgements about them or estimates of purchase intent. A significant determinant of opinions was the gender of the respondent. Females were more negatively predisposed overall to the concepts and more sensitive to specific information regarding product benefits and risks. The research offers a methodological template for public consultation and communication pre‐testing for new biotechnological products. Implications for regulatory policy and information dissemination for new food biotechnology products are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.