Ecological Concerns about Genetically Modified (GM) Food Consumption using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

Abstract

The commercial use of genetic modification (GM) technology in the food industry has been a common issue in the public. Decision-makers and scholars have indicated the benefits of the application of GM technology to the agriculture and food industries, such as lower production costs and product development with regard to sensory-related factors, health, and convenience that increase farming productivity, food supplies, and efficiency and reduce prices. However, previous studies have indicated that there is limited understanding of the potential ecological effects of the application of GM technology and/or of ethical considerations. Thus, the purpose of this study is to identify the structural relationships among ecological concerns and the Theory of Planned Behavior's (TPB) constructs (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention) in the genetically modified (GM) food context. The main survey was fielded in a metropolitan area in South Korea from October 11-27, 2013, and a survey of 387 qualified respondents was used using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. All measures were assessed for unidimensionality, reliability, and construct validity, and then two models (TPB and TPB+EC) were independently tested and compared using SEM. The TPB with ecological concerns included, adopted as the predictive model to measure intention to purchase GM foods, is compared with the explanatory power of both models (the TPB vs. the TPB+EC). The implications of this study are discussed for future research.

Are consumers loyal to genetically modified food? Evidence from Australia

“…For example, prior research has reported that consumer perceptions of benefits and risks are considered to be major precursors of their attitudes towards GM food (Bredahl et al, 1998) and, thus, influence its adoption (Smyth et al, 2015). Kim (2014) provided empirical evidence that consumers' attitudes, social influences (subjective norms) and situational influences (perceived behavioural control [PBC])…”

An Experimental Evidence on Public Acceptance of Genetically Modified Food through Advertisement Framing on Health and Environmental Benefits, Objective Knowledge, and Risk Reduction

“…This study used the six-item GMF knowledge scale from the literature [ 9 , 30 ] (e.g., “When it comes to GM food, I don’t know a lot”), which were measured on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly agree, 5 = strongly disagree).…”

“…Addressing the growing concern for global food security and the challenge to feed nine billion inhabitants of this planet by 2050, GMF has been a recent advancement of food-based technologies [ 9 , 10 ]. Besides, more than two billion people globally are combating malnutrition due to vitamin and mineral deficiencies [ 11 ].…”

Fitnesser’s Intrinsic Motivations of Green Eating: An Integration of Theory of Planned Behavior and Hedonic-Motivation System Adoption Model

“…In the study of food consumption (Kim, 2014), ecological concern refers to the concern about doing the right thing for animal welfare, the environment, and the ecosystem, which can be regarded as moral norms. Human should respect the environment via environmental ethics and beliefs and ensure the ethical connection between humans and the environment.…”