How chemophobia affects public acceptance of pesticide use and biotechnology in agriculture

Protecting crops from infestations is critical to ensuring stable, safe food production. However, many consumers are concerned about the use of pesticides and agricultural biotechnology (agri-biotech) applications. A lack of consumer acceptance can prevent potentially beneficial applications from being utilized. This study examines consumer acceptance of pesticide use in conventional and organic agriculture and agri-biotech applications as crop-protection measures. An online between-subject experiment was conducted with participants from the German-speaking part of Switzerland (N = 643). The results revealed that consumers were most willing to accept gene transfers as a protection measure, provided the gene came from a wild variety of the same species as the cultivated plant. Both chemophobia and the importance of naturalness in food influence consumer acceptance of pesticide use and agri-biotech applications. Addressing chemophobia and informing consumers about the role of technologies in pest-management and crop-protection could lead them to trust and accept related agricultural policies.