Consumer acceptance and willingness-to-pay for genetically modified foods with enhanced vitamin levels

While research and development in agricultural biotechnology is still primarily targeted toward genetically modified (GM) foods with improved agronomic traits, research into GM foods with enhanced micronutrient levels is growing. A similar trend is noticed in consumer research. This study contains a systematic review of the literature on consumer acceptance of, and willingness-to-pay for, GM crops with enhanced vitamin levels. Thereby, 19 studies were selected. The large share of favorable consumers (50–81%), as well as the high premiums (20–70%), illustrates the attractiveness of these GM foods with health benefits. Key determinants of acceptance and willingness-to-pay can be categorized into five groups: sociodemographic variables, knowledge, attitudinal and behavioral determinants, and information. The role of information was clearly illustrated in a case study on folate biofortification of rice in China, where positive effects of folate-related information were often affected by negative effects of anti-GM or conflicting information.