Does Internet Use Affect Public Perceptions of Technologies in Livestock Production?

Novel technology applications such as cloning and genetic modification in livestock production have not been widely supported by the public. In this study the relationships between attitudes towards animals, internet use and potential uses of genomics (and vaccination) in beef and pork are examined. The public’s attitudes towards animals, based on an AAS score developed by Herzog et al. (1991) could affect how the public sees the use of genomic technologies in livestock production. Media coverage of technology, including use of the internet, may also play a role in attitudes towards new technologies. Public attitudes might impact acceptance of genomic technologies and influence their adoption by producers, hence influencing societal welfare. Understanding some of the factors influencing attitudes can assist in the development and adoption of technologies. Tobit and multinomial regressions for members of the Canadian public suggest that internet use (for the purposes of searching out information on science and technology) is a positive indicator of higher animal attitudes scores (being more protective of animals) which suggests that internet use has both a negative (indirectly through animal attitudes) and a positive (direct) relationship with the use of genomic technologies in livestock production (through the sign of the variable in the attitude towards genomics equations). Respondents’ individual characteristics such as gender, knowledge of genomics applications prior to survey, income level, etc., are also related to their risk/benefit assessment of this livestock production technology