Innovation / rural finance products and process

Newspaper

Do voluntary biotechnology labels matter to the consumer? Evidence from the fluid milk market.

American Journal of Agricultural Economics, May (2005)

Innovations through biotechnology enable agricultural producers to reduce production costs and/or enhance product quality for many livestock and crop commodities. At the same time, however, these innovations may affect the demand for the products that utilize those commodities. Many individuals, for example, are concerned about potential risks to human health although by no means all consumers have such concerns (Burton, Metcalfe, and Smith; Heiman, Just, and Zilberman). The use of the recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) in milk production has been a particular concern for some consumers as approximately one-third of the United States' dairy herd, about 3 million dairy cows, currently receive rBGH supplements (Monsanto).

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