Consumer behavior towards chicken fed with genetically modified high available phosphorus (HAP) corn
Date
2005
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
The poultry industry is of great economic importance to the Delmarva Peninsula which includes Delaware and the eastern shores of Maryland and Virginia. Based on pounds of poultry meat produced in 2004, Delaware is ranked at 7th, Maryland at 9th and Virginia at 10th in the United States. Nutrient pollution from poultry industry in the form of high phosphorus levels in streams, lakes and rivers in Delmarva area is currently a matter of great concern. A possible solution to phosphorus pollution is the use of genetic engineering in developing a hybrid corn, i.e. HAP corn. This study measured consumer willingness to purchase chicken fed with varieties of feeds, especially genetically modified (GM) High Available Phosphorus (HAP) corn. A conjoint analysis based method was used, and data was collected using a mail survey. Survey responses show low level of knowledge about GM foods, and increased willingness to purchase GM foods due to their environmental benefits as well as nutrition value. Our regression results indicate a significant influence of gender, income, education, phosphorus concern, age and race. Females show less sensitivity to price as well as feed variety as compared to males. For all the income levels, people are more willing to purchase non-GM HAP fed chicken. No inclination of high income group to pay a premium for GM HAP corn was observed. Higher educated respondents also do not show any significantly increased or decreased inclination for GM HAP corn fed chicken. This may be due to the low level of knowledge across all income and education levels resulting in cautious attitude for GM food. This cautious attitude may not create a strong like or dislike for GM food. For all other feeds including GM HAP corn, the changes with age show a slight negative trend suggesting older respondents show more willingness to purchase GM HAP corn. However, the variations with age are minimal. Any specific feed dependent variations based on race of the respondents were not observed. As expected, consumers with higher concern for phosphorus pollution are more inclined toward buying environmentally beneficial products such as the HAP corn and Bt fed chicken. Finally, the survey reveals that most of the consumers lack knowledge about GM food and are unaware of the extent of GM food in grocery stores. There was no parameter (such as age, education, income etc.) to classify the group of people with distinct acceptance for GM foods. This observation is expected considering ignorance of consumers for GM foods. ☐ Overall, this study did not find a strong like/dislike for GM HAP fed chicken. Some sensitivity was observed, however the results encourage industrial production of GM HAP corn. The results also show that non-GM HAP fed chicken is preferred over GM HAP fed chicken.