title: Are all GMOs the same? Consumer acceptance of cisgenic rice in India.
abstract: India has more than 215 million food-insecure people, many of whom are farmers. Genetically modified (GM) crops have the potential to alleviate this problem by increasing food supplies and strengthening farmer livelihoods. For this to occur, two factors are critical: (i) a change in the regulatory status of GM crops, and (ii) consumer acceptance of GM foods. There are generally two classifications of GM crops based on how they are bred: cisgenically bred, containing only DNA sequences from sexually compatible organisms; and transgenically bred, including DNA sequences from sexually incompatible organisms. Consumers may view cisgenic foods as more natural than those produced via transgenesis, thus influencing consumer acceptance. This premise was the catalyst for our study--would Indian consumers accept cisgenically bred rice and if so, how would they value cisgenics compared to conventionally bred rice, GM-labelled rice and 'no fungicide' rice? In this willingness-to-pay study, respondents did not view cisgenic and GM rice differently. However, participants were willing-to-pay a premium for any aforementioned rice with a 'no fungicide' attribute, which cisgenics and GM could provide. Although not significantly different (P = 0.16), 76% and 73% of respondents stated a willingness-to-consume GM and cisgenic foods, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3788-7891
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Shew
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
authors.forename: Lawton L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Nalley
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
authors.forename: Diana M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Danforth
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.|Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.|Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Rodolfo M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Nayga
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
authors.forename: Anne-Cecile
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Delwaide
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Valent
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D012275:Oryza / Q000235:genetics*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: India; cisgenesis; consumer acceptance; food security; genetically modified organisms; rice