We currently have several research projects underway that are looking broadly at the ethical values which people use to choose what food and beverages they buy and consume. All of our projects require participants from the general public. You must be 18 years of age or over to participate in our research projects.

This page will be regularly updated as we prepare for each phase of research within our projects. If you are interested in our work we suggest that you return every few months.

General information

If you are interested in participating in one of our projects in person (for example in a focus group or interview), please click on the link underneath the project heading. You will be asked a few basic questions and to leave contact details. One of our researchers then will contact you and provide you with further information on the study that will allow you to make an informed decision about participating. You can decide to withdraw from participating at any time. We may choose not to contact you if the information you provide excludes you (e.g., because we have already had enough volunteers) from one of our projects. The information that you provide will not be stored with any responses you provide in any surveys or otherwise. You can request that your contact details and other information be removed from our database at any time.

Before beginning one of our surveys it is important that you understand that by completing a survey you will be giving your consent to participate in a research study and that the data you provide will be used for research purposes. All of the surveys here are anonymous and no identifying information will be stored with the data.

If you would like any other information on participating in one of our projects please contact:

Associate Professor Rachel Ankeny (Chief Investigator)
voice: +61-8-8313-5570
fax: +61-8-8313-3443
email: rachel.ankeny@adelaide.edu.au

Dr Heather Bray (ARC Research Fellow)
voice: +61-8-8313-4186
email: heather.bray@adelaide.edu.au

Understanding public and industry views of the use of new technologies in wine

This project aims to understand the views of the general public and those working within the wine industry on the use of new technologies in wine making in Australia. It is suggested that increased global competition, shifts in consumer demands and expectations especially regarding wine quality, and concerns about the need for more environmentally-friendly production practices are driving some in the industry to support consideration of these technologies. The research phase of this project will be conducted during the second half of 2011 and is supported by Wine2030.

Do you consume wine?

Are you willing to participate in our project by completing an anonymous survey?
Please click https://acsurvey.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_eX7dkneowXtNUFK to enter our survey on public views of the use of new technologies in wine.

Would you be willing to participate in a focus group on public views of the use of technology in the wine industry?
Please click https://acsurvey.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_2tcSjW0pxILBClK to answer a few simple questions and register your interest in participating in a focus group.

Understanding women's attitudes to genetically modified foods.

This project is now complete and was a small-scale pilot study which aimed to investigate the diversity of Australian women's attitudes to GM foods. The pilot project built on available data, for example the recently released survey of public attitudes towards biotechnology in Australia (DIISR, 2010), but aimed to further investigate the diversity of women's attitudes to GM foods and to explore the relationship between these attitudes and their values and roles.

Women are primarily responsible for food purchasing decisions in Australia. Although researchers have identified differences in the attitudes of men and women to genetically-modified (GM) foods, there have been few studies that attempt to ‘unpack' women's attitudes and to explore the relationships between these attitudes and women's personal and professional roles, values and beliefs. This study was a preliminary investigation of those relationships, using 3 focus groups of women of diverse age, education level in science and parenting status.

This project was supported by the Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation, Science and Research's New Enabling Technology Strategy and the South Australian Government Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology.

To view the project report click Final Report

What Shall We Have for Tea? Toward a New Discourse of Food Ethics in Contemporary Australia

We are increasingly encouraged to make ‘ethical' food choices but lack information about these issues: this project explores Australians' understandings of food ethics. Outcomes include a framework for more thoughtful discussions about food ethics and a series of recommendations for fostering public participation in food policy-making.

This project uses interdisciplinary methods to investigate Australians' understandings of food ethics, develop a framework for fostering dialogue about food ethics reflecting contemporary Australian values, and establish recommendations about how to foster more thoughtful and effective public participation in food policy. This project is significant because we lack a common language for thoughtful discussion of these issues, and need more examination of the conceptual and historical background of our values associated with food. The outcomes of the project will include publications aimed at scholarly and general audiences as well as a
series of recommendations for fostering public participation in food policy-making.

To read a recent article on the project, go to http://www.adelaide.edu.au/adelaidean/issues/44381/news44781.html

This project is supported by the Australian Research Council. We are currently in the early stage of the project and will announce further stages of the project via this website.