AgBioForum Volume 7 Number 3
The Journal of Agrobiotechnology Management & Economics
(Links are to the original articles)

Economic impact of genetically modified cotton in India
R.M. Bennett, Y. Ismael, U. Kambhampati, & S. Morse
This paper presents the results of a study aimed at measuring the economic impact of genetically modified cotton in Maharashtra State, India. It is the first study of its kind in India in that the data have been collected from farmers growing the crop under market conditions, rather than from trials. The research compares the performance of more than 9,000 Bt and non-Bt cotton farm plots in Maharashtra over the 2002 and 2003 growing seasons. Results show that Bt cotton varieties have had a significant positive impact on average yields and on the economic performance of cotton growers.

The market potential of a new high-oleic soybean: an ex ante analysis
K. Giannakas & A. Yiannaka
This paper develops a model of heterogeneous consumer preferences to analyze the market potential of a second-generation, genetically modified, high-oleic soybean developed at the University of Nebraska. The paper identifies the factors that will determine the effectiveness of the new technology and the implications for domestic producer welfare if the new technology were licensed exclusively to producers in the United States. Analytical results show that the market and welfare effects of the introduction of high-oleic soybeans are determined by the relative prices of products utilizing the new soybeans as an input in their production process, the distribution of consumer preferences, and the benefits consumers perceive from the new product. The lower the prices of products using the new soybeans and/or the greater the value consumers place on the new product attribute, the greater the market acceptance of the new high-oleic soybeans, the market share of the United States in the world market for soybeans, and the domestic producer welfare gains from the introduction of the new technology. When the value consumers place on the new product attribute is sufficiently high, the introduction of high-oleic soybeans is shown to drive the conventional soybeans out of the market, attract consumers of substitute products, and confer considerable benefits to all domestic soybean producers.

Objective and subjective knowledge: impacts on consumer demand for genetically modified foods in the United States and the European Union
L. House, J. Lusk, S. Jaeger, W.B. Traill, M. Moore, C. Valli, B. Morrow, & W.M.S. Yee
In the growing body of literature concerning consumer acceptance of genetically modified (GM) foods, there are significant differences in conclusions about the impact of knowledge on such acceptance. One potential explanation for these differences is the manner in which knowledge is measured. This paper first provides a review of the literature on objective and subjective knowledge, and reviews previous studies investigating the relationship between knowledge and acceptance of GM foods. Next, the goal of this study is to differentiate and examine the impact of both subjective and objective knowledge related to acceptance of genetically modified foods. Data from surveys collected in the United States, England, and France is used. Out findings suggest that knowledge should not be viewed as a unidimensional construct, and the way in which knowledge is measured significantly impacts the relationship with consumers? willingness to accept GM foods.

Can Chinese consumers be persuaded? The case of genetically modified vegetable oil
W. Hu & K. Chen
This paper investigates consumers' purchase intentions of vegetable oil that is made from genetically modified oilseeds (referred to as GM vegetable oil) in Beijing, China. It is found that consumers' purchase intentions of GM vegetable oil are low, indicating a considerable skepticism toward GM products. A potential reason for this skepticism is that Chinese consumers are not well informed about GM technology. Three types of information presented in the survey are found to have positive but differential impacts on consumers' purchase intentions. This signals that different information strategies may be implemented to influence Chinese consumers? purchase intentions of GM products.

Fear and hope over the third generation of agricultural biotechnology: analysis of public response in the Federal Register
P.A. Stewart & W. McLean
The third generation of agricultural biotechnology looms large as plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs) and plant-made industrial products (PMIPs) both promise new, cheaper, and more plentiful pharmaceutical drugs and industrial products, such as plastics, cosmetics, enzymes, and epoxies. At the same time, they threaten the US food supply through adventitious presence (e.g., inadvertent mixing) of PMPs/PMIPs with the traditional food supply—a concern brought home by the StarLink and Prodigene controversies in the past few years. This paper explores the third generation of agricultural biotechnology by looking at the products being developed and field tested and the regulations being implemented to address environmental release of PMPs and PMIPs. We next address the overwhelming public response to Federal Register notices concerning field release of PMPs and PMIPs and consider both the unprecedented volume of responses and their content, which reveals public and industry debate in terms of how to define science, governmental trust, and emotional response to the new technologies. We conclude by considering implications for not only PMPs and PMIPs, but also agricultural biotechnology in general.

Commentary

Europe on transgenic crops: how public plant breeding and eco-transgenics can help in the transatlantic debate
A.M. Thro
Although a range of views about transgenic crops is found in both the United States and Europe, some aspects that are particularly characteristic of European views are seldom mentioned in the United States. Awareness of these viewpoints is critical to improve the clarity of dialogue, focus on ultimate outcomes, and inform the development of consensus-building research, extension, and education activities.