Are consumers ready to accept gene-edited crops? Evidence from a choice experiment for CRISPR-edited tomatoes in Spain

Aim of the study: Understand consumer acceptability and willingness to pay for CRISPR-edited food and explore how production method, production origin and pesticide reduction affected their acceptance. Area of Study: Aragón (Spain) Material and Methods: We used a pre-registered online survey with a discrete choice experiment (DCE) implemented on 521 consumers. Consumers choose their preferred option when purchasing tomatoes, which differed in the breeding method (traditional vs. CRISPR), price, pesticide reduction, production method (conventional vs organic), and origin (European Union (EU) vs. non-EU). As context information for the analysis, we elicit consumers' perceptions, knowledge and trust regarding different breeding technologies (including gene modification and editing) and food technology neophobia. Main Results: Spanish consumers generally trust EU food safety but display high neophobia towards new food technologies, with limited knowledge of plant breeding methods. They also prefer EU-sourced and organically produced tomatoes, with solid support for those produced while reducing pesticide use. However, CRISPR-edited tomatoes face considerable resistance, with consumers requiring a discount to accept them. This price discount could be eliminated if the CRISPR-edited tomato is grown with at least a 67% reduction in pesticide use. Research highlights: While the proposal for the regulation of CRISPR provides a valuable entry point to enable its adoption in the EU, findings indicate that Spanish consumers are not ready to accept the CRISPR-edited tomatoes at face value, requiring additional assurances or specific benefits before acceptance.