Bauer, Martin W. (author) and Gregory, Jane (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2007
Published:
UK
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C28075
Notes:
Pages 33-51 in Martin W. Bauer and Massimiano Bucchi (eds.), Journalism, science and society: science communication between news and public relations. Routledge, New York, New York. 286 pages., Traces decline in science coverage from physical sciences to bio-medical and social sciences - and from state and "public" technologies to commercial and "private" technologies such as biotechnology.
15 pgs, Biotechnology might contribute to solving food safety and security challenges. However, gene technology has been under public scrutiny, linked to the framing of the media and public discourse. The study aims to investigate people’s perceptions and acceptance of food biotechnology with focus on transgenic genetic modification versus genome editing. An online experiment was conducted with participants from the United Kingdom (n = 490) and Switzerland (n = 505). The participants were presented with the topic of food biotechnology and more specifically with experimentally varied vignettes on transgenic and genetic modification and genome editing (scientific uncertainty: high vs. low, media format: journalistic vs. user-generated blog). The results suggest that participants from both countries express higher levels of acceptance for genome editing compared to transgenic genetic modification. The general and personal acceptance of these technologies depend largely on whether the participants believe the application is beneficial, how they perceive scientific uncertainty, and the country they reside in. Our findings suggest that future communication about gene technology should focus more on discussing trade-offs between using an agricultural technologies and tangible and relevant benefits, instead of a unidimensional focus on risk and safety.
