New plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) are seen as promising and innovative tools to achieve food security and food safety. Biotechnological innovations have great potential to address sustainable food development, and they are expected in the near future to play a critical role in feeding a growing population without exerting added pressure on the environment. There is, however, a considerable debate as to how these new techniques should be regulated and whether some or all of them should fall within the scope of EU legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), despite the product obtained being free from genes foreign to the species. In the EU, the adoption of these methods does not rely only on the scientific community but requires social acceptance and a political process that leads to an improved regulatory framework. In this paper, we present the results of an online survey carried out in Italy with 700 randomly selected participants on consumer attitudes towards food obtained by NPBTs. By applying the decision tree machine learning algorithm J48 to our dataset, we identified significant attributes to predict the main drivers of purchasing such products. A classification model accuracy assessment has also been developed to evaluate the overall performance of the classifier. The result of the model highlighted the role of consumers’ self-perceived knowledge and their trust in the European approval process for NPBT, as well as the need for a detailed label. Our findings may support decision makers and underpin the development of NPBT products in the market.
The lack of young people engaged in agriculture threatens future food security and social balance. The agricultural sector and rural areas are experiencing an aging demography. The data confirm the global historical trend of a shortage of young people deciding to pursue careers in agriculture and remaining in rural spaces. Understanding young people’s views on agriculture is the key to supporting their participation in the sector by examining the unattractive factors that influence their perceptions. This study aims to explore these factors through a literature review of the past 10 years, applying the PRISMA model. We used VOSviewer to identify the key elements linked in a co-word map and revealed four clusters that mainly influence young people’s perceptions. The reviewed papers are from developed and developing countries, as our approach seeks to transcend the national boundaries that often delimit analyses on generational renewal. The study brings out the common factors that affect youth’s choice in agriculture, highlighting their perceptions and aspirations. The discussions and conclusion aim to provide a different perspective to understand the decision-making process of young people toward an agricultural career.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.