FoodRisC: Conceptualising food risk and benefit

Dr Wim Verbeke, Professor of Agro-Food Marketing and Consumer Behaviour at Ghent University, discusses FoodRisC research dealing with the conceptualisation of food risks, benefits and crises. His team interviewed consumers, stakeholders and experts to discover their perceptions surrounding these issues in the context of food. Also explored was the use of social media in food risk communications and the barriers experienced by stakeholders and experts. In this interview, Wim explains the findings of these in depth interviews, their impact and the next steps in the project.

About Wim Verbeke

Wim Verbeke holds an M.Sc. degree in bio-science engineering, an MBA degree in marketing management and a PhD degree in applied biological sciences. He is currently associate professor in agro-food marketing and consumer behaviour at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University in Belgium.

Wim’s research interests comprise citizen and consumer attitudes, perceptions and acceptance of agricultural and food production technologies and products. Specific interests are on the impact of information, food labelling and the role of personal characteristics and individual difference variables on food consumption decisions. He is a partner in several Sixth and Seventh Framework research projects funded by the European Union. He has co-authored about 100 peer-reviewed papers in international scientific journals in different disciplines.