Atteggiamento dei consumatori nei confronti dell’evoluzione del sistema agro-alimentare: l’introduzione di alimenti geneticamente modificati

This paper reports a study about consumer attitudes to food safety as they relate to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Attitudes to GMOs (alongside other aspects of the food system including levels of agrochemical use, levels of food safety, consumption of organic products, preference for speciality food) were elicited during a questionnaire study conducted in the city of Bari in springtime 2005. In EU countries consumers appear to be very concerned about this issue and this study addresses whether those concerns are translated into a willingness to pay to avoid these products and a willingness to pay a premium price to buy “GMO-free” certified food. Choice modelling technique is applied in the analysis and ‘partworths’ are calculated with respect to changes in the levels of the different attributes of the food system. Consumers’ socio-demographic variables have been included into the model. Results show the importance of different aspects of the food system in forming food preferences; attitudes towards organic food are found to be a useful indicator of attitudes towards GM products. It has been possible to estimate whether consumers would buy GM food if they were offered at a discounted price or they would pay a premium price for GM-free certified food.