The Effect of Ideology on Attitudes toward GM Food Safety among Chinese Internet Users

Zhang, Yue; Sun, Yingying

doi:10.3390/su10114326

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…A series of studies on attitudes towards GM technology application in agriculture have focused on consumers, farmers [5,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] and a few other stakeholders [23,24]. There is a dearth of research on agribusiness managers' perception and their choices on GM technology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception and Attitude toward GM Technology among Agribusiness Managers in China as Producers and as Consumers

Deng

Pray

et al. 2019

Sustainability

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China is one of the biggest consumers of genetically modified (GM) products, importing maize, soybeans and canola, and producing GM cotton. The cultivation of GM food crop, however, is still not permitted. Many studies argue that consumers’ attitude toward GM food safety is a major barrier to GM food crop production in China. Recent studies suggest that special interest groups such as biotechnology scientists with an economic interest in biotechnology are more supportive of the technology than groups with nothing to gain. Others believe that agribusiness groups influence the debate about GM food production. This is the first study that examined agribusiness managers’ attitudes toward GM biosafety and their support for GM crop production. The sample was 160 firms in the seed, pesticide, feed and food processing industries. We found most agribusiness leaders are concerned about GM food consumption and oppose GM crop production. Using regression models, we found business managers’ attitudes toward GM crop cultivation are more supportive if they expect to profit, if they are already using GM crops in their firm or are doing research on GM crops.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception and Attitude toward GM Technology among Agribusiness Managers in China as Producers and as Consumers

Deng

Pray

et al. 2019

Sustainability

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“…Political attitudes were found significantly to affect happiness in groups “RI × no RP” and “no RI × no RP”, implying that when not engaging in any religious practices, believing in a certain religion or not will affect the predictive power of one’s political attitude. The people who reported having a more left-wing ideology in these groups indicated higher levels of happiness, which may be explained by what Zhang and Sun [73] discussed; namely, that the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government venerate a left-wing ideology, leading to the implication that people who have the same political attitude as the ruling administrative bodies would be happier than those who do not. However, further research on this is required in order to explain why only religious identity was found to moderate political attitudes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who Is Happier in China? Exploring Determinant Factors Using Religion as a Moderator

Sun

Zhang

2019

IJERPH

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The relationship between religion and happiness has been seriously understudied in non-Western and non-Islamic societies. Taking religious identity and religious practice as strata, the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) data were used to examine the predicting power of health, politics, and social relationships with regard to happiness in four different groups, as follows: People with a religious identity and practice, people with no religious identity but with a practice, people with a religious identity but no practice, and people with neither a religious identity nor practice. Multiple regression analyses were conducted using the Ordinary Least Squares method. The results demonstrate the influence of the independent variables in the four groups, thus confirming the expectation that different religious practices, as well as identities, play a vital role in moderating the degree of happiness. Physical and mental health are significant predictors of happiness regardless of different religious situations, with the effect of mental health here found to be greater in magnitude on happiness than that of physical health. Political participation was not found to be related to happiness, but having a left-wing political attitude did emerge as strongly predicting happiness. The results concerning social relationships further consolidate the hypothesis that religious practice should be taken into consideration separately from religious identity. This study indicates the importance of further investigating religious practice as an independent factor in religious studies in the context of Chinese society.

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“…A number of surveys have been conducted in China on different stakeholders' attitudes and perception of GM technology [16,17, (Table 1). The results show that the average share of consumers whose attitudes or perceptions were supportive or positive of GM foods before 2010 is around 45% while the share of consumers whose attitudes or perceptions were opposed or negative is around 16%.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The stakeholders in this paper include consumers, farmers, and local agricultural officials from county agricultural departments. Research shows that people of different occupations have significant differences in attitudes toward GM products [16]. The reasons we focus on these groups are as follows.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitude Gaps with Respect to GM Non-Food Crops and GM Food Crops and Confidence in the Government’s Management of Biotechnology: Evidence from Beijing Consumers, Chinese Farmers, Journalists, and Government Officials

Deng

2019

Sustainability

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Most soybean oil consumed in China is made from imported genetically modified (GM) soybeans, while livestock are fed imported GM soy meal and GM corn. However, no GM food crops are allowed to be planted in China at present. That puts China in a confusing situation where GM foods can be eaten but cannot be grown. Many studies suggest that it is partially due to Chinese consumers’ and government officials’ opposition to GM technology. This is the first study that examines different stakeholders’ and journalists’ attitudes toward the commercialization of GM non-food crops and GM food crops and investigates the attitude gaps with respect to these crops. From 2015 to 2016, surveys were conducted face-to-face and by email with 1730 respondents, including 1460 consumers, 54 farmers, 70 journalists, and 146 agricultural officials. We find that nearly 60% of respondents are supportive of the commercialization of GM non-food crops, but less than 30% of respondents support the commercialization of GM food crops. Around 50% of respondents have no confidence in the government’s management of biotechnology, while only 17% have confidence in the government’s management. Those with lack of confidence in the government’s management are less likely to support the commercialization of GM crops.

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The Effect of Ideology on Attitudes toward GM Food Safety among Chinese Internet Users

Cited by 12 publications

References 47 publications

Perception and Attitude toward GM Technology among Agribusiness Managers in China as Producers and as Consumers

Perception and Attitude toward GM Technology among Agribusiness Managers in China as Producers and as Consumers

Who Is Happier in China? Exploring Determinant Factors Using Religion as a Moderator

Attitude Gaps with Respect to GM Non-Food Crops and GM Food Crops and Confidence in the Government’s Management of Biotechnology: Evidence from Beijing Consumers, Chinese Farmers, Journalists, and Government Officials

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