¶ … Genetically Modified Foods With the emphasis lately on stem-cell research and cloning, consumer interest seems to have waned about genetically altered fruits and vegetables. Or has it? The answer to this question is of interest to a wide range of consumer businesses and organizations and R& D. agricultural firms due to the socio-economic impact. According to a peer-reviewed article in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, "Who do consumers trust for information: the case for genetically modified foods?," by agriculture and economics professors at several U.S. universities, the United States Department of Agriculture and Monsanto company, determining the answer to this query not relatively easy. As the article states, "the introduction of new goods, however, creates a disequlibrium (Hausman, 1996), which in turn creates a demand by economic agents for objective information to assist in making decisions on adoption and use (Schultz, 1975). The consumer's challenge is to sort through the various, competing and sometimes conflicting, sources of information."

Over the past several years, consumers read contrasting information regarding the positive and negative aspects of genetically modified (GM) foods. Agricultural biotechnology companies such as Monsanto and Syngenta as well as industry organizations lauded the use of biotechnology to create new products, claiming that this reduces food costs worldwide and improves environmental...

To the contrary, NGOs Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth distributed information through the WWW and press on the demonstrated risks of GM to human health, environment and biodiversity. They also claim that such new technology only benefits multinationals and not consumers. The FDA recommended voluntary labeling for genetically modified foods.
Companies and organizations disseminate disparate information hoping to impact consumer decisions on products. However, to be influential these groups must garner "trust." Glaeser et al. (2000) show that individuals who are closer in social status or have similar personal capital are more likely to trust one another. For example, people raised with a particular religious tradition place more trust in those raised within the same religious tradition. Becker (1996) argues that a consumer's social and personal capital is an essential determinant of preferences. Social capital is defined as the capital individuals acquire through surroundings, upbringing and social network. Human capital is capital individuals personally acquire, such as schooling, habits, or experience. "Understanding the formation of trust in information sources is an important step in understanding consumers' preferences for information on new products" (Huffman, 2004).

With the aid of a model, this article authors formulated hypotheses about the role of consumer measurable attributes related to household income, personal…