Can foods produced with new plant engineering techniques succeed in the marketplace?
AAEA member releases new research in AEPP
34% of the choice experiment participants in France and 47% in the US value the new non-browning NPETs apples with a positive premium compared to the conventional apples. These participants (as consumers) are pivotal in the emergence of R&D for improving fruits.
In the new article “Can foods produced with new plant engineering techniques succeed in the marketplace? A case study of apples” published in AEPP, Stéphan Marette, John C. Beghin, , Anne-Célia Disdier, and Eliza Mojduszka, identify the conditions under which markets for New Plant Engineering Techniques (NPETs) food derive from.
The authors say, “Our main findings were that consumers are heterogeneous, with some positively valuing novel foods generated with NPETs (34% in France and 47% in the US) and other discounting them. Market emergence is more likely, the larger the share of consumers valuing food improvements, the lower the expected (R&D and regulatory) costs of generating those novelties, and the higher the probability of R&D success. Conversely, as these more favorable conditions deteriorate, novelties may only emerge under traditional breeding, or eventually not at all. We also consider a likely collapse of conventional apples, which raises the social desirability of new apples generated by NPETs. There are actual cases of collapse in fruits. “
If you are interested in setting up an interview with Stéphan Marette from Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE AgroParisTech, UMR Economie Publique, Grignon, France, John C. Beghin from Yeutter Institute of International Trade and Finance, and Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Anne-Célia Disdier from PSE-INRAE, Paris, France and/or Eliza Mojduszka from USDA-United States Department of Agriculture, please contact Allison Ware in the AAEA Business Office.
ABOUT AAEA: Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) is the leading professional association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500 members in more than 60 countries. Members of the AAEA work in academic or government institutions as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety of research, teaching, and outreach activities in the areas of agriculture, the environment, food, health, and international development. The AAEA publishes two journals, the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, as well as the online magazine Choices and the online open access publication series Applied Economics Teaching Resources. To learn more, visit www.aaea.org.
Contact: Allison Ware
Senior Communications Manager
(414) 918-3190
Email: aware@aaea.org