USA – Consumers are willing to pay more for dairy products labelled as organic or all natural, over cheaper genetically modified goods.

That is the conclusion of a study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which looked at the benefits derived from having specially labelled products in the marketplace.

The milk industry was one of the first to see the introduction of genetic modifications, with the artificial growth hormone rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin) approved and then introduced into the milk supply in 1994.

The government’s decision to allow the use of genetically modified produce raised many questions, and for producers the main concern was whether labelling products as GM or non-GM would have an impact on sales.

Researchers Jeremy Foltz and Tirtha Dhar analysed consumers’ buying behaviour during a five year period in 12 key metropolitan markets. They found that consumers pay up to $1.50 per gallon (35 euro cents per litre) more for milk labelled rBST-free and 70 euro cents per litre more for milk labelled organic.