Marketing Nutrition: Soy, Functional Foods, Biotechnology, and Obesity

9. Winning the Biotechnology Battle

nine Winning฀the฀Biotechnology฀Battle Functional foods and biotechnology often are wrongly perceived as interconnected in many consumers’ minds. New foods, enhanced with added nutritional characteristics, can be intimidating. Some consumers are afraid to try functional foods such as soy, fermented dairy products, and yogurt because they have preconceived notions about the risks involved with adopting them. Some consumers refuse to adopt new foods based on emotion, fear, or unfounded beliefs. How can we reduce such fear? If we look at consumer reactions to biotechnology ,wecanpredictalotabouttheirbehavior.Bothproponentsand opponents of biotechnology claim that their goal is to educate consumers so they can make more informed decisions. Opponents focus on the risks of biotechnology, and proponents focus on the benefits. Yet neither side hasgeneratedstrongsupport,andmanyconsumersarestillconfusedabout the issue. This confusion and the ineffectiveness of such education efforts can be partially attributed to inaccurate assumptions both groups make about consumers. Throughout this chapter, we’ll see how the riskiness of biotechnology relates to consumers’ perceptions of functional foods and foods that have been otherwise genetically enhanced. Biotechnology is the modification of the genetic material of living cells so they will produce newsubstancesorperform newfunctions. Examplesofbiotechnologically produced foods include insect-protected potatoes, virus-resistant squash, herbicide-resistant corn, and high–oleic acid soybeans. 09.108-120_Wans.indd฀฀฀108 3/30/05฀฀฀2:54:55฀PM Winning฀the฀Biotechnology฀Battle • 109 This chapter looks at both the proponents and the opponents of biotechnology to see how understanding both groups will help marketers become more effective at educating consumers about functional foods and biotechnological advances. Proponents of biotechnology, particularly biotechnology corporations, base their marketing campaigns on a commodity promotion mindset and on market share advertising. They assume that the biotechnology controversy will soon be forgotten, that science sells and fear fails, that biotechnology education is a trade association concern, and that what’s good for medicine is good for food. Opponents or skeptics of biotechnology, such as environmentalists, base their strategies on grassroots experiences. They assume that consumers want to be informed, that consumers need to be informed, that the risks of the unknown are more important than the benefits, and that changes in consumer attitudes will lead to changes in behavior. Understanding key principles of consumer psychology will enable both groups to be more effective in educating consumers. This chapter explains how consumers form attitudes toward biotechnology. It then discusses the fallacies in the assumptions of the opponents and proponents. Finally, it provides implications for more effective consumer education that can be applied to increase consumption of functional foods. How฀Consumers฀Form฀Attitudes฀toward฀Biotechnology Consumers’attitudestowardbiotechnologyaredividedanddonotappear to be moving toward consensus. One mail survey asked 1,036 Americans, “What is your opinion toward biotechnology?”; 31 percent favored it, 18 percent opposed it, 26 percent had mixed feelings, and 26 percent did not care or had no opinion (Doyle 2000). Views were sharply divided. Some people liken biotechnology to other forms of progress such as the automobile or computer: “Man has been engineering his environment sincedayone,sowhat’sthefussallabout?,”“I’mallforusinglessresources to improve yield,” “A hundred years from now people will laugh at our superstitions regarding this new technology,” “Just as in the past, what’s new and improved is often mistaken as harmful.” Others disagree: “The genetics scares the hell out of me. I am in the stage of my life that most of it is behind me, and hopefully the genetics will not affect me, but it sure will (affect) the generations below me.” Some consumers focus on the benefits of biotechnology, whereas others focus on the risks. Some study the issue carefully, whereas others view it emo09 .108-120_Wans.indd฀฀฀109 3/30/05฀฀฀2:54:55฀PM 110 • the health of nations tionally. According to consumer psychology, there are two general ways or routes—central and peripheral—through which attitudes are formed (Petty and Cacioppo 1981). When people are motivated to understand an issue and have the ability and opportunity to do so, their attitudes will be formed through a direct, central route. When they are not motivated to understand the issue, when they lack the technical or cognitive ability to understand it, or when they lack the opportunity to think about it, their attitudes will be formed through an indirect or peripheral route. When attitudes are centrally formed, a consumer’s attitude toward biotechnology is determined by beliefs about various aspects of biotechnology , weighted by the importance...