To help inform policymakers about the use of information policy, ERS conducts research into the theory, application, and efficacy of education programs, labeling regulations, and advertising. ERS researchers have examined the application and efficacy of information policy for a wide range of topics, including nutrition, food safety, environmental conservation, farmworker safety, farm risk management, and commodity marketing. This briefing room outlines the theory behind information policy and provides links to ERS's work in this area. More overview...

contents

• Labeling policy
• Education programs

features
Information Sways Consumer Attitudes Towards Biotech Foods—This article, in the June 2003 issue of Amber Waves, shows that consumers' willingness to pay for a food product decreases when its label indicates that the product or some of its ingredients are genetically modified (GM). Results from experimental auctions for GM-labeled and standard-labeled vegetable oil, tortilla chips, and potatoes show that consumers discounted the GM-labeled varieties by an average of 14 percent. Willingness to pay varied depending on the type and source of agricultural biotechnology information consumers were given during the experiment. Gender, income, and other demographic characteristics appeared to have only a slight impact on consumers' willingness to pay for biotech foods. These finding are presented in more detail in the technical bulletin, The Effects of Information on Consumer Demand for Biotech Foods: Evidence from Experimental Auctions.

Traceability for Food Marketing & Safety: What's the Next Step?—When information about a particular attribute of a food product is systematically recorded, from creation through marketing, traceability for that attribute is established. Food suppliers and government have several motives for documenting the flow of food and food products through production and distribution channels—and a number of reasons for differentiating types of foods by characteristics and source.

recommended readings
Economics of Food Labeling— Economic theory suggests that mandatory food-labeling requirements are best suited to alleviating problems of asymmetric information and are rarely effective in redressing environmental or other spillovers associated with food production and consumption. Theory also suggests that the appropriate role for government in labeling depends on the type of information involved and the level and distribution of the costs and benefits of providing that information. This report traces the economic theory behind food labeling and presents three case studies in which the government has intervened in labeling and two examples in which government intervention has been proposed.

Consumer Use of Information: Implications for Food Policy—A review of selected literature in economics, nutrition education, and marketing, highlighting several research themes, including: (1) the need to motivate consumers to use nutrition information, (2) the value consumers place on time, (3) the possibility that information can change the effects of income on food choices, and (4) the value of enhanced life and health from improved nutrition.

Do Consumers Trust Food-Safety Information?—Results from a survey which asked where Americans obtained food-safety information, whether they trusted this information, and their major concerns related to food. The results can be used to select the best media for teaching consumers about food safety.

Food Companies Spread Nutrition Information through Advertising and Labels—Some evidence suggests U.S. diets improved after food manufacturers were permitted to link diet to disease risks through truthful health claims in advertising and product labeling. Allowing companies to use health claims also resulted in more healthful product innovations and provided companies with incentives to compete on the health features of their products.

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recent research developments
The Economics of Assurance and Traceability in the U.S. Food System—This working conference was organized by the Food and Agricultural Marketing Policy section of the American Agricultural Economics Association in partnership with ERS-USDA and AMS-USDA. There has been a plethora of "how to" conferences and workshops across the U.S. in 2001 introducing the concepts of assurance and traceability and introducing alternative processes and protocols, such as ISO 9000. However, the economics of cost/benefit and welfare analyses are complicated by questions of competitive or imperfectly competitive markets, partial or systems modeling, and short or long run considerations. This working conference brought together economists to share their knowledge 'wealth' and develop a proactive approach to bridging the gap in analytical support for government and industry decision makers.

newsletters
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related briefing rooms

• Consumer food safety behavior
• Industry food safety actions
• Government food safety policies
• Economics of foodborne disease
• Conservation and environmental policy
• Organic farming and marketing
• Agricultural Biotechnology
• Traceability in the U.S. Food Suppy

related links
The Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC)—FNIC is one of several information centers at the National Agricultural Library (NAL), part of USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS). FNIC is supported in part by a Cooperative Agreement with the Department of Nutrition and Food Science in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland. You can access all of FNIC's resource lists and databases, as well as many other food- and nutrition-related links from this award-winning site.

See all related links...

for more information, contact: Elise Golan
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: January 8, 2004