Consumers’ attitudes towards GM Free products in a European Region. The case of the Prefecture of Drama–Kavala–Xanthi in Greece

This study aims to identify the factors that affect consumers purchasing behaviour towards food products that are free from Genetic Modified Organism (GM Free) in a European Region and more precisely in the Prefecture of Drama–Kavala–Xanthi. Field interviews conducted in a random selected sample consisted of 337 consumers in the cities of Drama, Kavala, Xanthi, in November and December of 2009. Principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted in order to identify the factors that affect people in preferring consuming products that are GM Free. The factors that influence people in the study area to buy GM Free products are: (a) products’ certification as GM Free or organic products, (b) interest about the protection of the environment and nutrition value, (c) marketing issues, and (d) price and quality. Furthermore, cluster and discriminant analysis identified two groups of consumers: (a) those are influenced by the product price, quality and marketing aspects and (b) those are interested in productʹs certification and environmental protection. Non parametric statistical bivariate techniques were performed to profile the identified groups of consumers regarding their personal characteristics and some other factors affecting their buying behaviour.