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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Consumer attitudes towards genetically modified foods.

The present study reports attitudes towards genetically modified (GM) foods among Swedish consumers. A random nation-wide sample of 2,000 addressees, aged 18-65 years, were mailed a questionnaire and 786 (39%) responded. Most of these consumers were rather negative about GM foods. However, males, younger respondents and those with higher level of education were more positive than were females, older respondents and those with lower level of education. A majority of the consumers had moral and ethical doubts about eating GM foods and did not perceive attributes like better taste or lower price beneficial enough to persuade them to purchase GM foods. However, tangible benefits, like being better for the environment or healthier, seemed to increase willingness to purchase GM foods.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Preferences need no inferences, once again: germinal elements in the public perceptions of genetically modified foods in Colombia.

This paper explores the public perceptions of genetically modified foods in Colombia in a phase considered germinal: the topic was too novel at the time of research. The analysis covers media, informal conversations, and the word associations made by a sample of residents in the city of Bogotá. The results show that the public capability of associating with the topic, even intuitively, is due to the availability of culture themes, the primary categories that help conceptual elaborations, and the construction of common-sense theories. Three themes are proposed: natural/artificial, tradition/change, and health/disease. It is argued that cultural themes are not only cognitive, but also affectively laden entities, which explains the evaluative force expressed by social beliefs. Acknowledging the relevance of the non-attitude thesis, the author suggests that people associate novel objects with latent cultural meanings, explaining why words, images, and metaphors are readily available in elaborating social knowledge.

Colombia↗
PubMed2000

Gene transfer from genetically modified food.

The current debate about the safety of genetically modified food includes some important scientific issues where more scientific data would aid the robustness of safety evaluation. One example is the possibility of gene transfer, especially from genetically modified plant material.

Bacteria↗
PubMed2003

Clinical and laboratory investigation of allergy to genetically modified foods.

Technology has improved the food supply since the first cultivation of crops. Genetic engineering facilitates the transfer of genes among organisms. Generally, only minute amounts of a specific protein need to be expressed to obtain the desired trait. Food allergy affects only individuals with an abnormal immunologic response to food--6% of children and 1.5-2% of adults in the United States. Not all diseases caused by food allergy are mediated by IgE. A number of expert committees have advised the U.S. government and international organizations on risk assessment for allergenicity of food proteins. These committees have created decision trees largely based on assessment of IgE-mediated food allergenicity. Difficulties include the limited availability of allergen-specific IgE antisera from allergic persons as validated source material, the utility of specific IgE assays, limited characterization of food proteins, cross-reactivity between food and other allergens, and modifications of food proteins by processing. StarLink was a corn variety modified to produce a (Italic)Bacillus thuringiensis(/Italic) (Bt) endotoxin, Cry9C. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated 51 reports of possible adverse reactions to corn that occurred after the announcement that StarLink, allowed for animal feed, was found in the human food supply. Allergic reactions were not confirmed, but tools for postmarket assessment were limited. Workers in agricultural and food preparation facilities have potential inhalation exposure to plant dusts and flours. In 1999, researchers found that migrant health workers can become sensitized to certain Bt spore extracts after exposure to Bt spraying.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed2003

Key issues for the assessment of the allergenic potential of genetically modified foods: breakout group reports.

On the final afternoon of the workshop "Assessment of the Allergenic Potential of Genetically Modified Foods," held 10-12 December 2001 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA, speakers and participants met in breakout groups to discuss specific questions in the areas of use of human clinical data, animal models to assess food allergy, biomarkers of exposure and effect, sensitive populations, dose-response assessment, and postmarket surveillance. Each group addressed general questions regarding allergenicity of genetically modified foods and specific questions for each subject area. This article is a brief summary of the discussions of each of the six breakout groups regarding our current state of knowledge and what information is needed to advance the field.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed2005

Perceived naturalness and acceptance of genetically modified food.

This study examines people's acceptance of genetically modified (GM) food. Results suggest that GM acceptance depends most on how natural the genetically modified product is perceived and not directly on how natural the non-GM product is seen. A GM product that is perceived as more natural is more likely to be accepted than a GM product that is perceived as less natural. The extent to which GM affects the perceived naturalness of a product partly depends on the kind of product.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Societal aspects of genetically modified foods.

This paper aims to examine some of the reasons behind public controversy associated with the introduction of genetically modified foods in Europe the 1990s. The historical background to the controversy is provided to give context. The issue of public acceptance of genetically modified foods, and indeed the emerging biosciences more generally, is considered in the context of risk perceptions and attitudes, public trust in regulatory institutions, scientists, and industry, and the need to develop communication strategies that explicitly include public concerns rather than exclude them. Increased public participation has been promoted as a way of increasing trust in institutional practices associated with the biosciences, although questions still arise as to how to best utilise the outputs of such exercises in policy development. This issue will become more of a priority as decision-making systems become more transparent and open to public scrutiny. The results are discussed in the context of risk assessment and risk management, and recommendations for future research are made. In particular, it is recommended that new methods are developed in order to integrate public values more efficaciously into risk analysis processes, specifically with respect to the biosciences and to technology implementation in general.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Communicating about the risks and benefits of genetically modified foods: the mediating role of trust.

Recent research suggests that public attitudes toward emerging technologies are mainly driven by trust in the institutions promoting and regulating these technologies. Alternative views maintain that trust should be seen as a consequence rather than a cause of such attitudes. To test its actual role, direct as well as mediating effects of trust were tested in an attitude change experiment involving 1,405 consumers from Denmark, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. After prior attitudes to genetic modification in food production had been assessed, participants received different information materials (either product-specific information or balanced/general information about genetic modification in food production) and were asked to evaluate different types of genetically modified foods (either beer or yoghurt). The information materials were attributed to different information sources (either an industry association, a consumer organization, or a government source). After completion, perceived risk and perceived benefit were assessed, and participants indicated their trust in the information sources to which the materials had been attributed. Direct and trust-mediated attitude change effects were estimated in a multi-sample structural equation model. The results showed that information provision had little effect on people's attitudes toward genetically modified foods, and that perceptions of information source characteristics contributed very little to attitude change. Furthermore, the type of information strategy adopted had almost no impact on postexperimental attitudes. The extent to which people trusted the information sources appeared to be driven by people's attitudes to genetically modified foods, rather than trust influencing the way that people reacted to the information. Trust was not driving risk perception-rather, attitudes were informing perceptions of the motivation of the source providing the information.

Attitude↗
PubMed1999

Worlds apart? The reception of genetically modified foods in Europe and the U.S.

Recent controversies about genetically modified foods in the United Kingdom and several other European countries highlight the apparent differences that exist in public opinion on this subject across the Atlantic. Why are people in the United States seemingly untroubled by a technology that causes Europeans so many difficulties? The results of survey research on public perceptions of biotechnology in Europe and the United States during 1996-1997, together with an analysis of press coverage and policy formation from 1984 to 1996, can help to answer this question.

Attitude↗