GMO or GM No? Segmenting a consumer audience to examine their perceptions of genetically modified products

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine [State] consumers’ perceptions related to GM products, and how those perceptions and preferences differ based on consumers’ characteristics. Survey respondents held overall neutral but slightly negative perceptions of GM products. While they agreed GM products can help increase food production, they also expressed perceptions that GM products can cause illnesses such as cancer, autism, allergies, and gluten intolerance. Respondents also expressed beliefs that GM products are not good for the environment. Participants in the middle-income bracket had more positive perceptions of GM products than those in the lower and higher brackets. Respondents who always did the majority of the grocery shopping also had significantly more positive perceptions of organic products than respondents who were responsible for the majority of the grocery shopping about half the time. For industry practitioners, there should be targeted and simplified messaging to reduce the information load. Specifically, research suggests GM messaging that emphasizes subjective norms, utilizes infographics, is congruent with consumer values, and highlights GM benefits rather than risks. Information campaigns utilizing targeted audience segmentation, namely income and grocery shopping responsibility, are also a viable solution to increase consumer GM product perceptions.