Consumer involvement and acceptance of biotechnology in the European Union: a specific focus on Spain and the UK

Biotechnology stands out as a clear‐cut example of an industry where legislation on new technologies has been shown to be linked with public attitudes. Indeed, consumer consultation has played a leading role in the acceptance of genetically modified (GM) food as well as in government policy and legislation. This paper examines the issue of consumer consultation by analysing how public opinion has conditioned the acceptance of GM food in the European Union in general and specifically in Spain and the UK. We draw upon the evidence of two Eurobarometer surveys (46.1 and 52.1) to argue that consumer decision making on new technologies is an information‐dependent factor explaining consumer rejection to non‐transparent introduction of GM food. Individuals feel ill‐prepared to make decisions and rely on trusted information advisors such as consumer organizations. Findings suggest significant information dependency as well as widespread heterogeneity in attitudes towards the applications of biotechnology. Finally, the role played by information channels indicates that consumer participation should precede the adoption of communication policies, as they might need to adapt to the specific cultural characteristics of each country.     

Managing radical innovation: The importance of specialized knowledge in the biotech revolution

This work has implications for managers, investors and entrepreneurs in times of breakthrough innovation at the firm or industry level. The work shows that the marketplace understands the importance of retaining and motivating critical specialized knowledge. By analyzing initial public offerings during the biotechnology discovery wave I find evidence that a dramatic decrease in the ability to include secondary shares (liquidity for early investors and entrepreneurs) in biotechnology IPOs corresponds with the radical increase in the importance of specialized knowledge in that industry, at the time of the rDNA breakthrough discovery and development.     

An analysis of bundle pricing in horizontal and vertical markets: The case of the U.S. cottonseed market

The U.S. cottonseed market has seen the rapid development and adoption of seeds with differing bundles of genetically modified (GM) traits. It has also seen an increase in vertical integration by biotechnology firms. In this article, we investigate the price impacts associated with structural changes in the U.S. cottonseed market from 2002 to 2007. We develop a structural model to examine the substitution/complementarity relationships among cottonseeds sold with different genetic trait bundles and under different vertical arrangements. We examine the price impacts emanating from product differentiation, market concentration, and market size. The econometric investigation finds evidence of subadditive bundle pricing in patented biotech traits. While higher own‐market concentrations are found to be associated with higher prices, we also uncover evidence of cross‐product complementarity effects that lead to lower prices. Simulations are used to evaluate net price effects, illustrating the usefulness of the approach in the analysis of changing market structures.     

生物技术、国际贸易与人力资源——一个理论框架分析及其政策含义

随着生物技术的广泛应用,人类的生活必将发生翻天覆地的变化,对于未来的农产品国际贸易格局来说,也将是一场彻底的革新。我国应适时抓住重组赶超的历史机遇,选择最佳的发展模式,去抢占“新文明”经济时代下生存和发展的国际空间。本文从静态的李嘉图方程组出发,采用均衡和非均衡动态分析的方法,研究生物经济背景下农产品国际贸易的最优格局及发展趋势。要提高我国农产品的国际竞争力,作为农业经营的主体———农村劳动力素质的提高、农村人力资本的积累和发展是最为迫切,也是最为重要的。     

Biofortification,biodiversity and diet: A search for complementary applications against poverty and malnutrition

Biofortification, the focus of the HarvestPlus program of the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), represents a potentially powerful tool to increase dietary intake of essential nutrients in staple foods. This paper evaluates the compatibility of biofortification with the preferred option of dietary diversification and its potential impacts on the agricultural biodiversity essential for long term sustainability. In poor countries, biofortification requires increasing public investment in agricultural research and infrastructure for success. Rather than cereal commodities, biofortification for developing countries should focus on vegetatively propagated species or in improving quality of coarse cereals, as well as fodders. Community participatory approaches that identify local food resources with nutritional, agronomic and economic advantages to small-scale farmers could complement and set targets for biofortification as one of many approaches to alleviate nutritional deficiencies. Furthermore using agricultural biodiversity to reinforce dietary diversity can help situate biofortification within the larger context of sustainable food-based approaches. In this light, this paper evaluates specific biofortification interventions from environmental, sociocultural, political, economic, ethical, and biomedical perspectives.     

Technologies in Finland in 2020 valued by ZEF-tool

In Northern Finland, information and communication technology, biotechnology, environmental technology and wellness technology have been subjects of special interest in recent times. These technologies are believed to create competence and bring welfare to the area. The aim of this study was to produce possible, probable and desirable pictures of the future for discussion and debate, and for use in strategic processes in different organisations. The idea was to explore the future based on experts’ opinions. The article discusses not only the technologies the experts saw as attractive and credible but also the issues they believed to be directing the development of the technologies in question.     

How Do Cultural Worldviews Shape Food Technology Perceptions? Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment

Agricultural biotechnology (genetic modification) has encountered resistance from many consumers, resulting in disparate regulatory approaches across different jurisdictions. The recent advent of CRISPR-Cas9, or gene editing, offers the potential for significant improvements in plant breeding. However, little is known currently about consumer responses to the technology. A factor often omitted from previous economic analyses of consumer acceptance of new food technologies is underlying human values or worldviews. Drawing upon cultural cognition theory and using data from a survey of Canadian consumers, we examine the influence of cultural values on food choice behaviours. Respondents’ pre-existing cultural values are measured on two dimensions: hierarchy-egalitarianism and individualism-communitarianism. Choice behaviours are captured using a discrete choice experiment featuring a sliced apple product with two consumer-oriented attributes (non-browning and antioxidant-enhanced) and three novel food technologies (gene editing, genetic modification, edible coating). Using a random parameters logit model with error components we find pre-existing cultural values to be significant determinants of choice behaviours. Individuals pre-disposed towards a hierarchical worldview are more accepting of novel food technologies, as are individuals with a communitarian worldview. While the use of gene editing results in negative marginal utilities in a food choice situation, the effect is not as large as with genetic modification, suggesting there is scope to ameliorate potentially negative reactions to the technology with value-compatible messages.     

现代生物技术在食品和农业领域的应用

现代生物技术主要是基于基因修饰（GM）的理论、利用重组DNA技术,包括了发酵工程、遗传工程、细胞工程、酶工程、组织培养、生物反应器等处理生物性材料和物质的方法,目前已在农牧业、医药保健业等方面取得了巨大的成就,而且不断地、快速地向食品行业渗透和发展。本文论述了现代生物技术在食品和农业领域的应用现状。     

2009年澳大利亚科技发展动态研究

本文报告了2009年澳大利亚的科技政策动向、科技计划执行情况、高新技术产业发展和取得的一些成就、科技统计数据与主要科技指标以及开展国际科技合作的情况。     

Does biotechnology have a role in the promotion of underutilised crops?

Rapidly developing biotechnology applications aimed at improving major crops receive large investments and could, in theory, play a role in the promotion of underutilised plant species in the tropics and subtropics, in order to address current and emerging challenges for agriculture. The application of such methods is, however, sometimes controversial, and the frequently considerable costs involved must be weighed against the limited resources available to develop underutilised species, as well as against the many alternative methods available for promotion. Through database searches, we take an evidence-based approach to assess whether there are clear examples where biotechnology has been used practically to enhance the cultivation of underutilised plants at a field level. We conclude that tissue culture and micropropagation techniques have proven useful, but for other applications benefits are generally unclear at present, although ongoing work suggests genomic and genetic modification approaches may in future be significant for a subset of underutilised species. Successful outcomes, however, appear to be limited by a lack of integrated thinking during the use of biotechnology methods. We review the particular limitations and risks associated with applying biotechnology to underutilised crops, including the negative consequences of technology centralisation. In addition, the specific actions needed to ensure that smallholder farmers in low-income countries better benefit during the use of biotechnology on underutilised species, by placing a stronger emphasis on partnerships and by proper monitoring of benefits along value chains, are described.