Do Consumers View the Genetically Modified Food Labeling Systems Differently? “Contains GMO” Versus “Non-GMO” Labels

This article fills the gap in literature by studying consumers’ perceptions of the genetically modified (GM) food labeling systems in China, in terms of the comparison between the mandatory “Contains GMO” and the voluntary “non-GMO” labels. Using a recent survey, we find that the mandatory “Contains GMO” labeling system is considered more important relative to the voluntary “non-GMO” labeling system, and factors driving the perceptions of the two systems are different. Consumers who have more objective GM food knowledge, higher concerns about the GM foods’ health effects, lower intentions to buy GM foods, and higher income perceive both labeling systems as more important than their counterparts. Consumers who believe that they have eaten GM foods without being aware of it consider the mandatory “Contains GM” labeling more important, while consumers who believe GM foods unsafe and oppose GM technology consider the voluntary “non-GMO” labeling more important. The results support the mandatory GM labeling system.