The Pew Research Center has recently published a large survey regarding American’s attitudes toward food, including genetic modification …. There are some interesting findings buried in the data that are worth teasing out.
…
They found that 49% of Americans feel that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are bad for health, while 44% said they were neutral, and 5% said they were better. So the public is split right down the middle over the health effects of GMOs.
…
Even more interesting is the relationship between science knowledge and fear of GMO’s – among those with a high degree of science knowledge, 38% thought GMOs had health risks, while 52% of those with a low degree of science knowledge thought so ….
…
It does seem overall that attitudes about food in general and GMOs in particular are changeable. They are not tied to any particular political ideology. In other words – this is an issue where we can potentially move the needle through simple education about the facts.
…
We need to get the public away from this simplistic narrative to an evidence-based approach. The fact is, those who have negative attitudes toward GMOs are basing their negative opinions on misinformation and a misunderstanding of the science. The anti-GMO campaign is an anti-science movement, as much as global warming denial or the anti-vaccine movement.
Read full, original article: New Pew Survey About GMOs
