As with any recent discovery, plant biotechnology, particularly GMOs are widely criticised and debated. What are the most frequent critics? Which new fundamental discoveries, technologies and knowledge appear to bring the answers, improvements and solutions to solve the problems associated with plant biotechnology and GMOs?
GM crops and GM foods have proved to be one of the most contentious public issues in European society. Technical and economic benefits are offset by perceptions of risk to human health, environmental impact, increase in economic power of multinational corporations, deterioration in food quality, threat to traditional farming and rural society, and general moral acceptability. These attitudes are shifting, but are still strongly hostile to GM technology.
Broadly speaking, Europeans are supportive of biotechnology, with 43% being optimistic and only 17% pessimistic. However, a large number are uncertain. The attitudes are more favourable than, for example, towards nuclear power. While optimism about most technologies has been stable since 1991, optimism about biotechnology declined up to 1999, but has recovered since, mainly because of medical possibilities.
Of six applications of biotechnology, food was the least supported (should be discouraged) and crops next least favoured. Conclusions on safety of GM food are presented in three sources from Royal Society (UK), Academie des Sciences (France) and National Research Council (USA). All conclude that GM foods are safe. In contrast, 56% of Europeans believe GM foods to be dangerous, 70% “do not want this type of food” and 95% want labelling and the right to choose.
Title: "Public understanding and perception of plant biotechnology in the EU: Myth and reality"
Author: Patrick Cunningham, Department of Genetics, Trinity College, University of Dublin
Opposition to both GM crops and GM food increased between 1996 and 1999, but in general, stabilised between 1999 and 2000. There were some significant national differences in the latter period, with opposition declining in the UK, but continuing to increase in Germany and Italy. Differences in attitudes between the EU and the US are not as great as is sometimes believed. In the period 1996 to 2000, opinions on usefulness, risk and moral acceptability were generally about 10 percentage points more favourable to biotechnology in the US. However, over that period the differences widened somewhat, generally because of declining support in the EU.