The Impact of Abnormally Shaped Vegetables on Consumers’ Risk Perception

The Impact of Abnormally Shaped Vegetables on Consumers’ Risk Perception. Natascha Loebnitz and Klaus G. Grunert. Food Quality and Preference, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.08.004

Highlights
•    We examine vegetable shape abnormality on consumers’ risk perception.
•    Vegetable shape abnormality affect risk perception through food’s perceived naturalness.
•    Abnormally shaped vegetables are seen as unnatural which in turn increases risk perception.
•    Knowledge types moderate the vegetable shape – risk perception relationship.

Abstract: Genetically-modified (GM) food evokes high levels of fear and negative associations among consumers. This study predicts that people may associate naturally occurring vegetable shape-abnormalities with GM food, which increases their risk perception. With an experimental design in two studies, this research investigates the impact of abnormally-shaped vegetables on participants’ risk perceptions related to vegetable items that vary in their degree of association with GM technology. The results reveal that knowledge can moderate the vegetable shape-abnormality–risk relationship, depending on its objectivity or subjectivity.

Keywords: Abnormally-shaped vegetables; Risk perception; Knowledge types; Perceived naturalness; GM food

My comment: "Consumers perceive abnormally-shaped vegetables as more risky [...] and paradoxically, they associate natural vegetable shape-abnormalities with GM, despite having no other information available" & "increasing consumers' objective knowledge about food production does not prevent risk perceptions."