Would consumers accept CRISPR fruit crops if the benefit has health implications? An application to cranberry products

Cranberry products are perceived as healthy due to their high antioxidant content yet adding sugars to increase their palatability deters consumption. Plant breeding technologies such as gene editing, specifically the clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR), offer a plausible alternative to develop cranberries with desired traits (e.g., lower acidity and increased sweetness). We estimated consumers’ willingness to pay for sugar content, CRISPR, and cranberry flavor intensity for two cranberry products under different health-related information treatments. Respondents stated a discount for regular sugar content favoring reduced sugar products, for CRISPR compared to conventional breeding, and for weak/bland compared to full/intense cranberry flavor. Compensated valuation analysis of products with different attribute levels indicates that consumers were willing to pay a premium for cranberry products with reduced sugar content, CRISPR-bred, and full/intense cranberry flavor relative to products with regular sugar content, conventionally bred, and weak/bland flavor. Information treatments highlighting cranberries’ health benefits and recommendations to limit sugar intake increased consumers’ discounts for regular sugar content, surpassing the discount for CRISPR. This research underscores the importance of the conditions under which breeding technologies might gain public acceptance. This information will benefit the scientific community and industry seeking to use CRISPR to develop improved cranberry cultivars.