Consumers' search behaviour for GM food information

We report on the search for information on a genetically modified food by a sample of Canadian consumers. In the course of a computer-based survey on consumer choices, some 445 respondents, drawn from a large representative panel of Canadian consumers, had the opportunity for voluntary access to information related to a genetically modified food through hyperlinks. Slightly less than half actually sought the information. The economic construct of benefit-cost reasoning was applied to assess possible reasons for the different patterns of information access seen in the study. Gender, employment status, rural or urban residency and the number of children in the household affected the probability that respondents would access information. (C) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.