Is a non-browning apple less โnaturalโ than non-fat milk? In one case, people have injected something into apple DNA to prevent it from turning brown after itโs cut. In the other, people used technology to remove something that appears naturally in milk.
The question of what constitutes โnaturalnessโ โ and consumersโ attitudes about it โ lies at the heart of Washington University in St. Louis research from lead authorย Sydney Scott, assistant professor of marketing in the Olin Business School. The paper …. โAn Overview of Attitudes Toward Genetically Engineered Foods,โ was published …. in the Annual Review of Nutrition.
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โIn some contexts, people view nature and naturalness as sacred and genetically engineered food as a violation of naturalness,โ the authors wrote. The prevailing research also shows that consumers follow โthe magical law of contagionโ โ the idea that the slightest contact between natural foods and something else contaminates it. Thus, a houseflyโs wing in a bowl of soup renders the entire serving inedible.
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โItโs an overview of where we are,โ said Scott, who previously published research on the โmoralizationโ of genetically modified foods and the role of consumer โdisgustโ in their consumption.ย โItโs looking at the state of whatโs been done in the regulatory landscape and the research in understanding attitudes.โ
Read full, original article:ย Research confronts โyuckyโ attitudes about genetically engineered foods
