Consumer Acceptance of New Food Technologies: Causes and Roots of Controversies

Abstract

The literature abounds with evidence that consumers are critical of many new technologies used in modern food production. Influenced by the work on risk perception and technology acceptance in the 1980s, research has aimed to better understand the controversy around new food technologies. Whereas early contributions focused on risk perception and the lay-expert divide in objective and subjective risk perception, more recent research has turned to the role of emotions, moral judgments, and worldviews. This article takes stock of the theory and findings in this literature. In addition to providing an overview of the developments in the economic and sociopsychological literature, the review discusses selected topics related to consumer preferences for food technology and the determinants of food technology acceptance.