Beyond the cow: Consumer perceptions and information impact on acceptance of precision fermentation-produced cheese in Germany

Precision fermentation (PF) is a process for producing dairy products without the need for cows. The technology is considered to have potential for addressing sustainability issues by producing high-nutritional proteins with lower resource consumption. As knowledge about the impact of information as well as of perceived benefits and risks on consumer acceptance is still low we conducted an experimental study with 2,035 German participants. We tested five information treatments regarding basic facts, technology, genetic modification, and similarity to other products using a between-subject design. Furthermore, we included potential benefits and risks concerning animal welfare/farmers’ livelihoods, food quality (consistency and naturalness), land use, nature, and market. Our analysis only shows a significantly negative, but low, impact of information about genetic modification on consumers’ willingness to try PF cheese. We were further able to reveal that consumers are positively influenced by benefits that emphasize the consistent quality and sustainability aspects of PF cheese. The negative arguments addressing farmers’ risk of losing their source of income and the potential market power of large companies appear to be the greatest acceptance-reducing influence. Overall, this study serves as a basis for the successful marketing and communication of PF cheese.