The impact of information disclosure on consumer acceptance of genome-edited foods in Japan

Abstract

Abstract Genome editing promises the acceleration of genetic progress by replacing the germ cell lineage of commercial breeding animals with cells derived from genetically elite lines for efficient food production and food waste reduction. However, Japanese consumers are not familiar with such foods. This study investigates consumer acceptance of genome-edited (GE) foods and how information disclosure impacts it. We constructed a GE food acceptance model and investigated consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for different information disclosure levels. This model illustrated that information credibility and perceived usefulness are significantly related to consumer acceptance, especially the former. We found that WTP was 76 JPY (approximately 0.69 USD) for functional information, 11 JPY (approximately 0.1 USD) for GE food labels, and 38 JPY (approximately 0.345 USD) for genome editing technology descriptions. As this is an early study of such a model, we believe that there is scope for various discussions in the future.