Biotechnology and the Consumer: A research project sponsored by the Office of Consumer Affairs of Industry Canada - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0792355415 ISBN 13: 9780792355410

Publisher: Springer, 1999

Synopsis

Biotechnology is a rapidly developing sector of the economy for coun­ tries throughout the world. This rapid development has led to heated debate over its risks and benefits. Advocates of biotechnology point to the potential benefits offered by products that promise to elimi­ nate disease, provide for more efficient diagnostic techniques, treatments and drugs, yield increased food production, and so forth. Others fear that the rapid developments of this technology have occurred without appropriate consideration having been given to the ethical ramifications, the potential health risks and long-term envi­ ronmental impacts, implications for income distribution, and potential for abuse. Consumers and producers share concern for the future of biotechnology: the realities and even the perceptions, informed or otherwise. This book is the outcome of a research project on Biotechnology and the Consumer sponsored by the Office of Consumer Affairs of Industry Canada. The project was designed to foster informed public policy on biotechnology and in particular, to contribute to and inform the Canadian government's development of a Canadian Biotechnology Strategy. The Office funded a group of authors to prepare a series of analytical papers on a range of consumer and informational issues related to biotechnology. This project also involved an interim workshop in which the authors presented their papers, and culmi­ nated in a symposium on Biotechnology and the Consumer Interest, held on September 24-25, 1997, in Ottawa, Canada.

About this title

Synopsis

This volume analytically explores consumer perspectives of biotechnology and the ability of the marketplace to address consumer needs and concerns regarding this frontier technology. This includes an examination of how science-based industries with complex market transactions provide information and choice to consumers. Other topics covered are: how consumers' perspectives of risk and uncertainty extend beyond scientific assessments of risks and hence their market demand for new products; how consumers influence the economy and societal values by bringing to their purchasing decisions a broader range of ethical, social and environmental concerns; how consumers gain a greater understanding of the importance of consumer acceptance to the successful development of this technology by examining the linkages between capital markets and consumer perspectives; how companies compete and are structured in the marketplace and how their behaviour impacts on consumer welfare; and mechanisms for consumer participation and consultation.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0792355415
• ISBN 13: 9780792355410
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 523
• Editor: Knoppers B.M., Mathios Alan