Research on Consumer’s Willingness to Accept Genetically Modified Foods

Abstract

The genetically modified (GM) food has developed rapidly since they were introduced in our country. People have been benefited a lot from the GM food. However, the debate on GM food has never stopped. The profit produced by GM food is larger than the risk by its supporters. And the advantages of GM technology which includes yield enhancement, cost reducing, quality improvement are also extolled. On the opposite side, potential risks of GM food can’t be ignored regarding to the food safety and unpredictable environment hazards. As the GM food and technology is growing, it is meaningful to explore consumer’s attitude towards GM food. The attitude of Chinese consumers towards GM food was analyzed through questionnaire online in this research with the result showing that GM food is not popular among consumers whose choice is influenced by the quality and safety which may be the two major factors. In order to analyze the GM food objectively, chemical analysis methods such as PCR and ELISA are applied to study the difference between GM food and normal food. The test report indicated no significant difference between the GM food and normal food, which proved that consumers’ fears were misplaced. GM food is still faced with huge challenges in its future development. Thus, the quality improvement of GM food is recommended which should be focused on by the producers. The government should also reinforce the publicity of GM food to improve public awareness of eating GM food.