Abstract
Whether biotech agricultural products should be labeled has become an issue of contention both within the United States and between the United States and its trading partners.1 Economists tend to argue that labeling and product differentiation of biotech and nonbiotech commodities and food products would expand consumer welfare. Such labeling would increase consumer choice and allow consumers to participate in determining the mix of biotech and nonbiotech products that are produced.
The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official USDA positions.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bender, K., Hill, L., Wenzel, B., and Hornbaker, R., 1999, Alternative Market Channels for Specialty Corn and Soybeans, AE-4126, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2000, Changing Markets and the Government’s Role, http://www.ers.usda.gov/whatsnew/issues/biotechmarkets/governmentrole.htm (accessed June 25, 1999 ).
Falck-Zepeda, J., Traxler, G., and Nelson, R., 2000, Rent creation and distribution from biotechnology innovations: The case of Bt cotton and herbicide-tolerant soybeans in 1997, Agribusiness 16 (1): 21–32.
Grossman, S. J., 1981, The informational role of warranties and private disclosure about product quality, J Law Econ 24 (3): 461–483.
Hadden, S. G., 1986, Read the Label: Reducing Risk by Providing Information, Westview Press, Boulder.
Hoban, T., 1999, What Do Consumers Really Want and Need from Food Labels? Paper presented at AgBiotech Symposium on GM Foods, Nov. 10–12, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
Huang, K., 1993, A Complete System of U.S. Demand for Food, Technical Bulletin No. 1821, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Ippolito, P. M., and Mathios, A. D., 1990a, The regulation of science-based claims in advertising, J Consum Policy 13: 413–445.
Ippolito, P. M., and Mathios, A. D., 1990b, Information, advertising, and health choices, Rand J Econ 21: 459–480.
Ippolito, P. M., and Mathios, A. D., 1995, Information and advertising: The case of fat consumption in the United States, Am Econ Rev 85: 132–156.
Just, R., Hueth, D., and Schmitz, A., 1982, Applied Welfare Economics and Public Policy, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Magat, W. A., and Viscusi, W. K., 1992, Informational Approaches to Regulation, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Moorman, C., 1996, A quasi experiment to assess the consumer and informational determinants of nutrition information processing activities: The case of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, J Public Policy Mark 15 (1): 28–44.
Moschini, G., Lapan, H., and Sobolevsky, A., 2000, Roundup Ready soybeans and welfare effects in the soybean complex, Agribusiness 16(1):33–55.
Nelson, G., Josling, T., Bullock, D., Unnevehr, L., Rosegrant, M., Hill, L., with Babinard, J., Cunningham, C., De Pinto, A., and Nitsi, E., 1999, The Economics and Politics of Genetically Modified Organisms in Agriculture: Implications for WTO 2000,Bulletin 809, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Putnam, J., and Allshouse, J., 1999, Food Consumption, Prices, and Expenditures, 1970–97, Statistical Bulletin No. 965, Food and Rural Economics Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Slovic, P., Fischhoff, B. and Lichtenstein, S., 1982, Facts versus fears: Understanding perceived risk, in: Judgement Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases,E. Kahneman, P. Slovic, and A. Tversky, eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Variyam, J., Blaylock, J., and Smallwood, D., 1995, Modeling Nutrient Intake: The Role of Dietary Information, Technical Bulletin No. 1842, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Variyam, J., 1997, Diet-Health Information and Nutrition: The Intake of Dietary Fats and Cholesterol, Technical Bulletin No. 1855, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Golan, E., Kuchler, F. (2002). Labeling Biotech Foods. In: Krissoff, B., Bohman, M., Caswell, J.A. (eds) Global Food Trade and Consumer Demand for Quality. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5329-5_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5329-5_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-3379-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-5329-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive