Organic Consumers’ Viewpoints Towards New Breeding Techniques In Italy

Summary

Despite the recent decision of the European Court of Justice to consider plant obtained by New Breeding Techniques (NBTs) as GMOs, there is still an intensive debate in Europe on the use of these new techniques in the organic farming. For this reason, understanding organic consumers’ viewpoint towards NBTs is essential for the future of the sector. Following the Q method approach (Brown, 1980), a pilot study was conducted in Italy with 36 organic consumers. The balanced Q-sample, which accounted 48 statements regarding NBTs, was defined according to a 4 x 2 factorial design with six replications. Results demonstrated the presence of two relevant viewpoints towards the adoption of the NBTs in the organic seed and plant breeding sector.