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Food company policies affect biotech acceptance?
(Saturday, June 28, 2003 -- CropChoice news) -- High Plains Journal, 06/27/03 via Agnet:
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Nick Kalaitzandonakes, professor and director of the
University of Missouri's Economics and Management of Agrobiotechnology
Center (EMAC) was cited as saying that food companies battling for a
competitive advantage may have influenced consumer biotechnology acceptance
even more than consumers themselves, adding, "Since the first voluntary bans
on genetically modified (GM) food occurred in Europe in 1998, European
retailers and manufacturers have contended that they've simply responded to
consumer concerns. But a closer look reveals that the actions of some key
players in the global food industry appear to be motivated more by economic
self-interest and less by consumer interests."
In an article published this spring in the journal, Nature Biotechnology,
Kalaitzandonakes and Jos Bijman, a senior researcher at Wageningen
University in the Netherlands, were cited as arguing that these voluntary
bans - first on GM food ingredients, then on products from animals reared on
GM feed - were initiated by a few key food retailers attempting to
strategically position their private label brands in the marketplace.
"These retailers repeatedly preempted and exceeded regulatory requirements,
inviting public attention to their actions and establishing themselves as
gatekeepers for food safety," Kalaitzandonakes said. "In order to remain
competitive, other supermarket chains had to follow suit."
After bans by food retailers became more widespread, food manufacturers also
announced GM bans, he said. "The risk of brand damage from side-by- side
comparison with non-GM private label products supplied a strong incentive
for manufacturers to adopt bans."
In a multi-country comparison, Kalaitzandonakes and Bijman found the
intensity of GM bans correlated more closely with private label market
penetration than with consumer attitudes in those markets.
"Despite similar consumer attitudes toward GM food in the United Kingdom,
Switzerland, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, the food retailers
in these countries have responded very differently," he said. "Where private
label brands have enjoyed high market penetration, such as the UK and
Switzerland, GM bans have been pervasive. Where private labels have a more
limited market share, such as Japan, GM bans have been absent."
Whether companies are serving as gatekeepers for food safety or
strategically exploiting market conditions, Kalaitzandonakes said the
industry's actions may have influenced consumer attitudes.
"Our research indicates efforts to improve biotech acceptance through
'consumer education' will have little impact," he said. "This is both an
issue for biotech products currently on the market and for future
innovations in biotech. The global food industry and its interests must be
accounted for in the innovation process." | |
