Consumer Attitudes toward Milk Products Produced from Cloned Cows

The use of simulated test-marketing technology and concept exposure for a branded and priced milk product shows that consumers had similar purchase interest for the full-priced product and the product offered at a 25-percent discount when they were told that the reason for the discount was that the product was produced using biotechnology. Furthermore, there was a slight reduction in purchase interest in the discounted milk when consumers were told that the product was from cloned cows. However, when consumers were offered the conventional product at the market price and they were later told that the product was from cloned cows, the purchase interest dropped from 25 percent to only 6.3 percent. Thus if producers adopt the cloning process and do not educate the consumers and pass along the benefits of lower-priced milk, it appears that consumers will react negatively when they learn of the change in production method and may purchase a different brand or type of milk