Jesper Lassen

Perceptions of food risk management among key stakeholders : Results from a cross-European study

In designing and implementing appropriate food risk management strategies, it is important to examine how key stakeholders perceive both the practice and effectiveness of food risk management. The objective of this study is to identify similarities and differences in perceptions of, and attitudes to, food risk management practices held by consumers and experts with an interest in food safety. Focus groups were conducted in five European countries chosen for their (hypothesised) cultural differences in attitudes towards risk: Denmark, Germany, Greece, Slovenia and the UK. Content analysis was carried out on the resulting texts and (sub) categories were identified within the analysis framework to facilitate the capture of emerging themes. Five key themes were identified as common to the perceptions of both consumers and experts, although these are not represented in the same way by both groups. These key themes are: (1) efforts made by the responsible authorities to manage food risks; (2) responsibility for prevention and management of food risks; (3) how priorities are established within regulatory systems; (4) scientific progress and its implications for food risk management; and (5) media attention and food safety incidents. Although some similarities emerged between the groups, differences were also identified. For example, experts appeared to be highly negative about media influences, whereas consumers appeared more indifferent about media influences and motives. These different perspectives need to be addressed in order to reduce the perceptual distance between key stakeholders, and in particular, to enhance consumer confidence in the food risk management system. Based on the study findings, recommendations for food risk management policies are outlined.

Meat in context. On the relation between perceptions and contexts

Studies of the public perception of specific food qualities often report conflicting findings, and it is well known that actual market behaviour frequently deviates from the perceptions of food quality expressed in interviews or surveys. Rather than treating these kinds of disparity as the result of data being self-contradictory, this paper, which builds on sociological theories and an empirical study, suggests that the concept of context can contribute to a better understanding of the threatened paradoxes. First, the paper introduces and discusses context as a theoretical and methodological approach in studies of public perceptions of food quality. Second, a case study of the importance of different contexts for Danish public perceptions of meat quality is reported. The study involved a series of focus-group interviews with Danes. Its results demonstrate that public concerns about meat quality vary, depending on whether they relate to meat in an everyday context or production context. It is concluded that the deployment of context as a methodological and interpretive frame improves our understanding of disparities in the reporting of public perceptions of food qualities.

Genetic technologies meet the public: the discourses of concern

To clarify concerns that the public has with genetic technologies, the article presents the results of focus group interviews conducted in Denmark in 2000. The concerns of the public are divided into three ideal-typical categories: social (dealing with environmental and health risks), economic (dealing with both the threats and opportunities of the new technologies), and cultural (taking up ethical and moral concerns). Following a general discussion of why it is important to take these discourses of concern seriously, each discursive category is discussed with examples taken from the focus group interviews.

Attitudes to Publicly Funded Obesity Treatment and Prevention

The aim of this study was to investigate the Danish publics support for publicly funded obesity treatment and prevention. It was also examined whether levels of support could be explained by dislike of obese people and/or the belief that those who are obese are personally responsible for their condition. A representative survey of members of the Danish public (N = 1,141) was conducted using a web‐based questionnaire. The survey was designed to assess attitudes to public funding for obesity‐related health care, and to investigate the impact, on those attitudes, of dislike of obese people, the perceived controllability of obesity, self‐reported BMI, and additional attitudinal and socio‐demographic characteristics. Public funding of some obesity treatments, such as weight‐loss surgery, attracted only limited public support. A majority of the Danish public did support “softer” treatment interventions and preventive initiatives. Attitudes to the treatment of obesity were clearly best predicted by the belief that individuals are personally responsible for their own obesity. Dislike of obese persons had no direct effect on the preference for collective treatment initiatives and only a small effect on support for publicly funded obesity prevention. The high level of disapproval for publicly funded obesity treatment should be cause for concern for decision makers aiming to ensure equal access to health care. Since it is the belief that obese people are personally responsible which explains this disapproval, strategies for challenging public opinion on this issue are discussed.

A Comparison of the Leachable Inorganic Nitrogen Content in Organic and Conventional Farming Systems

Abstract Soil samples collected from 26 organic and 550 conventional farms during autumn 1990 through the national Grid Net Survey (GNS) and a simultaneous supplementary survey on 8 organic farms have been analyzed in order to estimate the risk of nitrogen leaching. The average nitrate N (nitrogen) content in the soil (0–75 cm) was very similar in samples from organic farms (31kg/ha) and conventional farms using manure (29 kg/ha), but superior to that of conventional farms not using manure (22 kg/ha). Samples collected from fields on organic farms cultivated with grass with clover or alfalfa were very small (12 kg/ha) compared to samples from fields cultivated with cereals (57 kg/ha) and samples from bare fields following cereals (48 kg/ha). The average nitrate N content was higher in samples from clayey soil (40 kg/ha) than from sandy soils (15 kg/ha). The nitrate N content in samples from regions with a high percolation level during the autumn (August to December 1990) was lower than in samples from reg...

The role of scientific knowledge in shaping public attitudes to GM technologies

Depending on the perceived balance of risk and benefit, and on the perceived unnaturalness, some applications of gene technology appear more acceptable to the public than others. This study asks whether a person’s knowledge of biology affects their assessment of these factors differently. A random sample of the Danish population (n = 2000) was presented with questionnaires. The respondent’s knowledge was measured by a number of textbook questions on biology. The results indicated that knowledge increases the likelihood that a person will have differentiated opinions on medical and agricultural applications, but decreases the likelihood that he or she will differentiate between cisgenic and transgenic cereals. We discuss the implication that knowledge makes people more likely to base their acceptance on judgements of risks and benefits, rather than on judgements of naturalness. The article concludes that the effect of knowledge on acceptance cannot be generalised wholesale from one application, or method, to others.

Ranking genetically modified plants according to familiarity

In public debate GMPs are oftenreferred to as being unnatural or a violationof nature. Some people have serious moralconcerns about departures from what is natural.Others are concerned about potential risks tothe environment arising from the combination ofhereditary material moving across naturalboundaries and the limits of scientificforesight of long-term consequences. To addresssome of these concerns we propose that anadditional element in risk assessment based onthe concept of familiarity should beintroduced. The objective is to facilitatetransparency about uncertainties inherent inthe risk assessment of the GMP. Familiarityconventionally involves data and experiencerelating to the plant species and the ecosystemin question. We would like to extend thisconcept to the molecular level of plantbreeding and suggest that GMP characteristicsshould be compared to a reference baselinedetermined by conventional breeding techniques.Three GMPs are ranked according to familiarityat the plant and ecosystem level and themolecular level. The approach may help tointegrate discussion of the scientificarguments and moral questions raised in thedebate about GMOs by providing an operationalscheme within which moral concerns are broughtwithin the framework of science-based riskassessment.

Examining why ethics is taught to veterinary students: a qualitative study of veterinary educators' perspectives

Although it is widely agreed that veterinary students need to be introduced to ethics, there is limited empirical research investigating the reasons why veterinary ethics is being taught. This study presents the first extensive investigation into the reasons for teaching veterinary ethics and reports data collected in semi-structured interviews with educators involved in teaching undergraduate veterinary ethics at three European schools: the University of Copenhagen, the University of Nottingham, and the Technical University of Lisbon (curricular year 2010-2011). The content of the interview transcripts were analyzed using Toulmins argumentative model. Ten objectives in teaching veterinary ethics were identified, which can be grouped into four overarching themes: ethical awareness, ethical knowledge, ethical skills, and individual and professional qualities. These objectives include recognizing values and ethical viewpoints, identifying norms and regulations, developing skills of communication and decision making, and contributing to a professional identity. Whereas many of the objectives complement each other, there is tension between the view that ethics teaching should promote knowledge of professional rules and the view that ethics teaching should emphasize critical reasoning skills. The wide range of objectives and the possible tensions between them highlight the challenges faced by educators as they attempt to prioritize among these goals of ethics teaching within a crowded veterinary curriculum.

Don't wash my meat: public perceptions of decontamination in meat production

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study public acceptance of decontamination as a risk reduction strategy in meat production.Design/methodology/approach – A representative survey of the Danish population (n=1,104) was conducted during September 2007. The survey included dimensions of assessment of decontamination techniques and background variables of socio‐economic status, food culture and safety profile. The data were analysed using latent class analyses, and subsequently the association of the predicted classes and background variables was analysed using bivariate analyses.Findings – The analysis shows that in general members of the public do not agree with the practice of decontamination. There was, however, some variation in public rejection of the techniques. Four latent classes were identified: rejects decontamination (57 per cent), accepts decontamination (4 per cent), accepts techniques that are familiar in meat production (18 per cent), and accepts techniques known from processed foods (...

Public participation: democratic ideal or pragmatic tool? The cases of GM foods and functional foods.

Over recent decades, public participation initiatives have been employed across Europe often with a focus on science and technology issues. In the area of new food technologies most participation initiatives have centered on genetically modified foods. By contrast, in the area of functional foods—where significant EU legislation was recently passed—we have seen no initiatives towards public inclusion. This applies also for Denmark, the country which is the focus of this article. Based on an interview study with members of the Danish parliament the article examines why such considerable differences exist between initiatives to involve the public, and it challenges the role that public participation plays in Danish politics. The main claim made in the article is that although politicians argue for the value and relevance of public participation their willingness to initiate participatory processes is overruled by their concern with playing by the rules of the political game.