| While many studies have investigated determinants of risk perceptions, few studies have incorporated an integrative approach. This research on risk perceptions of food hazards incorporates such an approach by developing a model that comprises cognitive, cultural, and reflexive modernity theories of risk. Past research suggests that trust, knowledge, experience and worldview, as well as demographics, influence an individual's perceptions of risks. Previous research has also shown that risks are perceived on the basis of how well their effects are known and dreaded. Using data from a 1999 national telephone survey (1400 respondents), I test my model on three food risks—pesticides, salmonella and fat—because the effects of each constitutes a conceptually different but similar risk. Each is also perceived differently in terms of knowledge and dreadfulness.; Results show that perceptions of risks do vary by the level of knowledge and dreadfulness. However, these differences do not correspond with levels of concern about each food risk. While each model yielded different results, three variables in particular were correlated with perceptions of food risks—knowledge, trust, and race. Worldview variables were correlated with perceptions of pesticides, indicating that cultural theory cannot be easily dismissed. The reflexive modernization approach was supported by the fact that there were high levels of concern associated with each food risk, which may be linked to changes in food production and people's attitudes toward industrial agriculture. Racial and gender differences in the perception of food risks indicate that certain socio-demographic groups perceive more vulnerability to risks. Also, the robustness of the relationship between trust and the perception of food risks supports the notion that trust may act as a coping mechanism as outlined by reflexive modernization and cultural theory. |
