When Evolution Works Against the Future: Disgust's Contributions to the Acceptance of New Food Technologies

Abstract

New food technologies have a high potential to transform the current resource-consuming food system to a more efficient and sustainable one, but public acceptance of new food technologies is rather low. Such an avoidance might be maintained by a deeply preserved risk avoidance system called disgust. In an online survey, participants (N = 313) received information about a variety of new food technology applications (i.e., genetically modified meat/fish, edible nanotechnology coating film, nanotechnology food box, artificial meat/milk, and a synthetic food additive). Every new food technology application was rated according to the respondent's willingness to eat (WTE) it (i.e., acceptance), risk, benefit, and disgust perceptions. Furthermore, food disgust sensitivity was measured using the Food Disgust Scale. Overall, the WTE both gene-technology applications and meat coated with an edible nanotechnology film were low and disgust responses toward all three applications were high. In full mediation models, food disgust sensitivity predicted the disgust response toward each new food technology application, which in turn influenced WTE them. Effects of disgust responses on the WTE a synthetic food additive were highest for and lowest for the edible nanotechnology coating film compared to the other technologies. Results indicate that direct disgust responses influence acceptance and risk and benefit perceptions of new food technologies. Beyond the discussion of this study, implications for future research and strategies to increase acceptance of new food technologies are discussed.

Keywords: Acceptance; benefit perception; disgust; new food technologies; risk perception.

Figure 1

Proposed model explaining willingness to eat (WTE)/willingness to drink (WTD), risk and benefit perceptions of new food technologies by food disgust sensitivity, and state disgust response. A full mediation over disgust response was expected while controlling for the direct effect (c’) of food disgust sensitivity on WTE/WTD and risk and benefit perceptions.