Reaping What We Sow: Emerging Issues and Policy Implications of Agricultural Biotechnology

This essay assesses the U.S. government's role in managing rapid biotechnological change in agriculture. Many scientists hail recent agricultural biotechnology developments as steps toward solving the health, nutrition, and environmental problems that have plagued the world for decades. At the same time, some fear these biotechnological advances will leave a legacy of environmental threats, health problems, and ethical dilemmas for future generations. The impacts of these technologies on economies and the environment are unpredictable and government's role in regulating GM (genetically modified) technologies will need to be different than its functions in traditional agricultural policy. In this article, we consider current federal regulation of GM products, consumers' apprehensions about GM food, possible market failures due to agricultural biotechnology, and the policy significance of scientific uncertainty. We then suggest policy approaches that can address concerns about biotechnology and ensure that the potentially widespread public benefits from GM crop production are not ignored.     

Identity Preservation and International Trade: Signaling Quality across National Boundaries

Changing consumer preferences, technological advances, global agri-food markets and increasing regulation of food quality and safety have created the need for identity-preserved production and marketing (IPPM) systems, which bridge the gap between differentiated consumers' wants and traditional commodity-based agri-food production and marketing systems. The international trading regime is ill equipped to deal with these changes. In the absence of an agreed set of trade rules to regulate trade in differentiated food products, relying on IPPM systems or barring imports of "low-quality" goods become domestic policy choices. The latter is shown to be an inferior policy option. The sustainability of an IPPM across national boundaries is dependent upon its ability to credibly signal quality to consumers. Incentives to cheat erode this credibility. Horizontal and vertical cooperation through thirdparty certification are key to the long-run sustainability of IPPM systems.     

Labelling Genetically Modified Food: Heterogeneous Consumer Preferences and the Value of Information

One facet of public debate associated with genetically modified (GM) food focuses on labelling policy for products derived from GM processes. This paper reports on the analysis of effects on consumers' choices of pre-packaged sliced bread under different GM food labelling policies. Substantial heterogeneity is found to exist among consumers' tastes for various bread attributes, including the presence/absence of GM ingredients in bread products. A simulation-based bias-adjusted measure is applied to estimate the value of information, as opposed to the value of the presence or absence of GM ingredients, revealed to consumers by different labelling procedures for the GM attribute. The information that is provided in a mandatory labelling context is considerably more valued by consumers than the information provided in a voluntary labelling context. In a final section, estimated consumer benefits from labelling policies are expressed in terms of average market prices for bread products, providing a measure of benefits against which potential cost increases that may be associated with labelling policies may be compared in the context of any future benefit–cost analysis of GM labelling.     

Transparency and Bidding Competition in International Wheat Trade

One of the trade policy issues identified by U.S. interests, including grower groups, traders and policy makers, is price transparency. This has been a point of contention between the United States and Canada as well as other exporting countries with state trading enterprises (STEs). The transparency problem generally refers to the inability to observe terms of trade (including price, quality, credit, etc.)offered by STEs, and the potential strategic advantage this provides in bidding competition. A game theory model of import tendering is developed in this paper to examine the effects of information asymmetry among rivals. Several stylized examples are used to illustrate aspects of competition and to analyze effects on bidding strategies. Results indicate that:

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  Less uncertainty among rivals reduces equilibrium bids and prices.

       
  
  

Respondents' ignoring of attribute information in a choice modelling survey

One debate in economics centres on consumers' decision-making strategies and whether they should be explicitly considered. The default assumption for choice modelling has been that all the attributes presented to respondents somehow influence their choices. More recently, choice modelling research has begun examining how respondents use information. This article presents research that focused on which pieces of information respondents used in responding to a choice modelling survey. The use of information by respondents was captured in the course of the administration of a computer-aided survey, so the research did not rely on posterior self-reporting. Access to the information was captured for each attribute of every alternative, which allowed flexibility in assessing use of information. Three mixed logit models are presented, based on three different assumptions about information use. The results suggest that accounting for respondents' information use affects modelling results, but the impact on estimates of willingness to pay may be relatively small.     

Forging Strategic Alliances in Canada's Agrifood Sector: Framework for Analysis and Action

In recent years, participants in Canadas agrifood sector have become more concerned about their competitiveness and have identified strategic alliances as being vital to becoming more competitive. This paper is a review of economics, strategic management and other social science literature examining several issues such as:

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  the types of objectives organizations should pursue using strategic alliances
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  the appropriate configuration for a strategic alliance, given its objectives
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  advantages and disadvantages of strategic alliances versus other types of business relationships
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  factors that enhance or inhibit organizations' abilities to forge alliances.

The latter part of the paper concentrates on what managers interested in pursuing strategic alliances can do to enhance their chances of success.     

Risk Perceptions, Risk Preference, and Acceptance of Risky Food

Consumers' risk preferences are often overlooked in studies of consumer demand for risky food. We find that risk preferences elicited through context-less lottery choices are significantly related to consumers' stated preferences for genetically modified (GM) food. These results suggest risk preferences elicited in the laboratory are not artificial in the sense that they appear to be related to the same risk preferences that govern other individual decisions such as food choice. Consistent with theoretical expectations, risk perceptions and risk preferences were found to be significant determinants of acceptance of GM food, which has important implications for explaining consumer behavior.     

An Evaluation of the Ontario Farm Business Management Association Program

The Ontario Farm Business Management Association (FBMA) program was initiated to improve the business management skills of Ontario red meat producers. The program has three aims:

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  to increase management skills on the farm
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  to increase management skills in the private sector
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  to help farmers make use of private sector advice.

Two methods were used to evaluate the program. First, FBMA members and other red meat producers were surveyed about their farm and personal characteristics as well as use farm records and information sources. Second, focus groups were held with the FBMA field persons. Results indicate that membership in an FBMA increased the collection and use of farm records, but that there was no significant increase in the use of private sector consultants by the producers. Moreover, FBMA members indicated a very low willingness to pay to support their FBMA if government funding were stopped.     

Information Effects on Consumers' Willingness to Purchase Irradiated Food Products

This study assessed the effect of information related to the food irradiation process on consumers' willingness to purchase irradiated food products and the perceived consumer segment to which they belonged ("strong buyer,""interested,""doubter," or "rejector" of irradiated food). Two types of information were presented: the nature and benefits of food irradiation and information about two ways in which food can be irradiated. Positive shifts in the responses were observed in both the consumer segment to which they belonged and willingness to buy after the presentation of information about food irradiation technology.     

Drivers to Nurturance: Application and Extension of FWB in India

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing the choice of healthier foods in India through observation of 250 consumers in a feast arranged with most of the millet-based food items, followed by a focus group study of nine selected consumers from the feast. Although much of the work about healthier food choices have been done in the western countries, their replication is not possible for the Indian consumers due to the differences in perception, culture, and consumption patterns. This paper attempts to highlight the importance of indigenous culture of a land in influencing one’s food choice. The findings of the qualitative study match with the Food as Well Being (FWB) dimensions proposed by Block et al., 2011 Block, L. G., Grier, S. A., Childers, T. L., Davis, B., Ebert, J. E., Kumanyika, S., … &; Pettigrew, S. (2011). From nutrients to nurturance: A conceptual introduction to food well-being. Journal of Public Policy &; Marketing, 30(1), 5–13.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. Food perception emerged as another important factor from this study and furthermore an extended model of FWB is proposed for the Indian consumers.     

On the Demand for Information Services: An Application to Lowbush Blueberry Producers in Eastern Canada

Information needs have rapidly evolved in agricultural markets but little is known about how information is transmitted to agricultural producers. Producers must collect information to better manage their production, marketing and financial decisions. Using survey data obtained from a questionnaire distributed to lowbush blueberry producers in eastern Canada, we analyze how producers' individual characteristics impact their demand for different information services. Minimum distance estimation of the structural ordered probit equations indicates that:

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  Confidence in the information service is a central determinant of the frequency at which a producer refers to a specific service.

       
  
  

Food Preferences and Ethnicity

Policies to curb food imports in food deficit Sahelian countries have been unsuccessful. Sahelian countries are ethnically diverse and each group has demonstrated strong preferences for cereals and other foods. Yet, research on the consequences of expressed food preferences on food production, consumption, and importation is limited. In this paper, the effects of ethnic identity and income class on food consumption choices were investigated. The results showed that all consumers, use the same criteria in evaluating a given set of foods irrespective of ethnic group, or income class. Ethnic groups and income classes choose a given food basket, which maximizes their welfare, if the same criteria are used in making their food choices.     

Food Values

Because of the potential malleability of stated and revealed preferences for new food technologies and attributes, this research sought to determine consumers' food value systems by utilizing recent advances in best-worst scaling. Based on previous literature related to human values and food preferences, a list of eleven food values was compiled. Results reveal that on average the values of safety, nutrition, taste, and price were among the most important to consumers, whereas the values of fairness, tradition, and origin were among the least important; however, there was significant heterogeneity in the relative importance placed on food values. Results indicate that food values are significantly related to consumers' stated and revealed preferences for organic food.     

Bananas, Beef, and Biotechnology: Three Contentious U.S.–EU Trade Disputes

Trade disputes between the European Union and the United States over bananas, beef, and biotechnology stem from rent-seeking by special interests, consumers' fears about food safety, and mistrust of government regulation and enforcement. The unwillingness of the European Union to abide by the decisions of the dispute settlement panels threatens the integrity of the World Trade Organization, whose fundamental weakness is its inability to resolve conflicts when the contracting parties disagree with the findings of the dispute settlement body due to overriding domestic political concerns.     

Organic Consumption as a Change of Mind? Exploring Consumer Narratives Using a Structural Cognitive Approach

An innovative qualitative approach to analyze consumer narratives and biographies was applied to gain insight into consumer decision making and dynamic behavioral patterns in the purchase of organic foods. We adapted Gardner's (2004 Gardner , H. ( 2004 ). Changing minds: The art and science of changing our own and other people's minds. Cambridge , MA : Harvard Business School Press . [Google Scholar]) change-of-mind framework to organic food consumption. Regular consumers trust organic products because they believe that they are healthier and tastier than the equivalent nonorganic product. This belief is built upon day after day by their experiences and by word of mouth: a growing stock of information supports their food choice and confidence in organic food. Occasional consumers have strong beliefs about the better taste and the higher quality of organic food in general. The choice to (regularly) buy organic food is a matter of largely unnoticed inner development. The results allow us to draw some conclusions relating to the determinants of the future demand for organic food in Italy.     

Consumer Demand for a Ban on Antibiotic Drug Use in Pork Production

Both bodies of the U.S. Congress have recently considered legislation to restrict use of antibiotics in livestock feed. Although several studies have addressed the costs of such restrictions, little is known about consumer demand. This study estimates consumers' willingness to pay for pork produced without subtherapeutic antibiotics and consumers' willingness to contribute to a reduction in antibiotic resistance by collecting data in a grocery store environment with mechanisms that involve the exchange of real food and real money. Results indicate that the welfare effects of a ban depend heavily on assumptions about consumers' current knowledge about antibiotic use in pork production and the extent to which consumers are currently able to purchase antibiotic-free pork.     

Alternative Methods of Estimating Export Demand: A Monte Carlo Comparison

A simple two-country trading model is used to compare three methods of estimating export demand: ordinary least squares, two stage least squares, and two stage least squares applied to importer domestic equations (from which were derived excess demand). The performance of the estimators depends primarily on relative error variances around excess supply and demand. While there are situations where ordinary least squares performs well, it often gives very poor estimates. The third method is superior in the general case.
On utilise un modèle classique d'analyse du commerce extérieur entre deux pays afin de comparer trois méthodes d'estimation de la demande pour l'exportalion. Ces méthodes utilisées pour quantifier la demande excédemaire correspondent respectivement à:

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   un simple modèle line'aire
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   un modèle général àéquations multiples
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   un modèle àéquations multiples s'appliquant uniquement aux fonctions d'offres et de demandes du pays importateur

Le rendement des coefficients estimés dépend, en majeure partie, de la variation relative de l'erreur associée aux offres et demandes excédentaires. En particulier, le simple modèle linéaire ne permet pas, sauf exception, d'estimer correctement les coefficients. Dans le cas général, la troisième méthode donne lieu à de meilleures estimations des coefficients.     

Consumer Acceptance of Food Biotechnology

Abstract

Using data from a national survey, this study examines public acceptance of food biotechnology by modeling consumers' willingness to buy genetically modified foods. Empirical results suggest that younger, white, male and college educated individuals are more likely to accept food biotechnology. However, consumers' views about scientists and biotechnology companies, and their trust and confidence in government regulators, have greater impacts on their acceptance of genetically modified foods than their economic and demographic attributes. Overall, consumers view food biotechnology as a risk-benefit issue rather than an ideological issue. There is some evidence of regional differences in the acceptance of bioengineered food products.     

中国粮食生产能力发展状况分析

研究目的:通过分析全国及各省40年来的粮食生产能力发展变化状况,提出稳定和提高粮食生产能力的对策措施,为保障国家粮食安全提供有效支撑。研究方法:根据粮食生产的S型曲线,分4种类型分别对各省粮食生产能力发展状况进行分析。研究结果:经济发展水平较高的省区,粮食生产能力开始出现下降趋势,其中有部分省属于粮食主产区,应引起高度重视;而经济发展水平一般或较低的省区,粮食生产能力仍在不断增加。研究结论:粮食播种面积的变化是影响粮食生产能力变化的最直接的因素,但耕地面积减少导致粮食的减少是刚性的;要稳定和提高粮食生产能力可通过稳定粮食播种面积、加大土地开发整理力度进一步提升粮食单产水平、加大粮食生产的政策保障等措施来实现。     

Relating Consumer Willingness-to-Pay for Food Safety to Risk Tolerance: An Experimental Approach

This study investigates the role of risk tolerance in shaping Canadian consumers' willingness-to-pay for food safety risk reductions. Non-hypothetical experimental auctions were used to elicit consumer valuations of food safety improvement. To identify the relationship between food safety concern and risk-reduction valuations, individual risk-perception scores are constructed based on questionnaire responses. Results show willingness-to-pay for improved food safety tends to decrease as individuals become more risk tolerant. Differences in bids across naïve and informed rounds of bidding tend to become smaller with risk tolerance for individuals who initially overestimated the food safety risk.