Consumer Evaluations of and Attitudes towards New Genome Editing Techniques: An Italian Case Study

Simona Romeo Lironcurti (), Federica Demaria, Raffaele D’Annolfo and Roberta Sardone
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Simona Romeo Lironcurti: CREA—Research Centre for Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy, 00187 Rome, Italy
Raffaele D’Annolfo: CREA—Research Centre for Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy, 00187 Rome, Italy
Roberta Sardone: CREA—Research Centre for Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy, 00187 Rome, Italy

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: The ever-increasing development of assisted evolution technologies (AETs) in agriculture has boosted crop improvement. The commercialization of improved biotech crops can be promoted by modern gene editing instead of conventional genetic modification, which is a cheaper and faster approach that can help address future agriculture challenges, such as food security, environmental sustainability, and climate change. However, the use of these technologies is still sensitive and debated in many countries. Each region promotes a different approach, depending on regulatory policies, and adopting these technologies requires knowledge of consumer views and stakeholder acceptance. For this purpose, we conducted a survey of 564 Italians regarding their knowledge of genetic techniques, informational tools, purchase preferences, environmental sustainability, and food safety issues. The research aims are twofold: (a) to assess the level of knowledge and (b) to determine how consumer background, including social and demographic characteristics, affects their level of knowledge. Our findings emphasize the importance of communication and dissemination activities, in which clarity and a broad appeal are key.

Keywords: assisted evolution technologies (AETs); consumer attitude; environmental risk and food safety; Italian consumer sample (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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