Genetically modified food in the news: media representations of the GM debate in the UK

Awareness of GMOs in terms of the Iran biosafety act: A case study of Tehran city

Given emerging food supply challenges for the world population, Genetic Modified Organisms (GMOs) are referred to as a solution to the upcoming food security crisis. Besides technological advancement, other significant components such as public Awareness play an important role in national and international scientific regulations. Towards this, this study evaluated Tehranian consumers' Awareness (a sample including 946 respondents) about GMOs' risks and benefits, trust in governmental regulation, and the ways to obtain information about GMOs. Specific questionnaires were designed and distributed among participants in four districts in Tehran, and the collected data were used to conduct descriptive and inferential statistics by applying the ANOVA test. The Findings showed that 39 % with a p-value <0.01 of the public is unaware of GMOs in Tehran despite 20 years of commercialization, consumption, and controversial debate about GMOs in media and social networks. Therefore, the goals of public Awareness of science concerning biotechnology have not been met yet. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that public Awareness is not a crucial component in biotechnology advancement, and the other factors, including policymakers' desire, may have more weight.

Social acceptance of genetic engineering technology

Genetic engineering of animals has been proposed to address societal problems, but public acceptance of the use of this technology is unclear. Previous work has shown that the source of information proposing the technology (e.g. companies, universities), the term used to describe the technology (e.g. genome editing, genetic modification), and the genetic engineering application (e.g. different food products) affects technology acceptance. We conducted three mixed-method surveys and used a causal trust-acceptability model to understand social acceptance of genetic engineering (GE) by investigating 1) the source of information proposing the technology, 2) the term used to describe the technology, and 3) the GE application for farm animals proposed. Further, participants expressed their understanding of technology using a range of terms interchangeably, all describing technology used to change an organism's DNA. We used structural equation modelling and confirmed model fit for each survey. In each survey, perceptions of benefit had the greatest effect on acceptance. Following our hypothesized model, social trust had an indirect influence on acceptance through similar effects of perceived benefit and perceived risk. Additional quantitative analysis showed that the source of information and technology term had little to no effect on acceptance. Applications involving animals were perceived as less beneficial than a plant application, and an application for increased cattle muscle growth was perceived as more risky than a plant application. When assessing the acceptability of applications participants considered impacts on plants, animals, and people, trust in actors and technologies, and weighed benefits and drawbacks of GE. Future work should consider how to best measure acceptability of GE for animals, consider contextual factors and consider the use of inductive frameworks.

The state of the 'GMO' debate - toward an increasingly favorable and less polarized media conversation on ag-biotech?

Although nearly three decades have passed since genetically modified crops (so-called ‘GMOs’) were widely commercialized, vociferous debate remains about the use of biotechnology in agriculture, despite a worldwide scientific consensus on their safety and utility. This study analyzes the volume and tenor of the GMO conversation as it played out on social and traditional media between 2018 and 2020, looking at 103,084 online and print articles published in English-language media around the world as well as 1,716,071 social media posts. To our knowledge, our analysis is the first comprehensive survey of the shifting traditional and online media discourse on this issue during this time period. While the volume of traditional media coverage of GMOs increased significantly during the period, this was combined with a dramatic drop in the volume of social media posts of over 80%. Traditional media tended to be somewhat more positive in their coverage than social media in 2018 and 2019, but that gap disappeared in 2020. Both traditional and social media saw trends toward increasing favorability, with the positive trend especially robust in social media. The large decline in volume of social media posts, combined with a strong trend toward greater favorability, may indicate a drop in the salience of the GMO debate among the wider population even while the volume of coverage in traditional media increased. Overall, our results suggest that both social and traditional media may be moving toward a more favorable and less polarized conversation on ag-biotech overall.

Does China have a public debate on genetically modified organisms? A discourse network analysis of public debate on Weibo

We examine stakeholder participation in the online debate on genetically modified organisms in China and assess how the debate has changed over time. Therefore, we compare messages posted between 2013 and 2020 on the Chinese microblog website Weibo by using discourse network analysis. Our findings reveal strong opposition to genetically modified crops, along with the existence of two competing coalitions of supporters and opponents. We further observe an increasing number of posts supporting genetically modified organisms by the public in recent years. Consequently, there is an indication that the positions of stakeholders have changed over time. We discuss the policy implications for China and draw conclusions for other countries.

Visualizing science: The impact of infographics on free recall, elaboration, and attitude change for genetically modified foods news

Within the theoretical frameworks of the dual coding theory, this study examined how the implementation of infographics would influence audiences' cognitive responses to science news reporting topics of genetically modified food and bioengineering. A total of 280 participants were randomly assigned to view news articles that report genetically modified food information presented via infographics or text. Findings showed that the participants recalled more information, elaborated more message-relevant thoughts, and had more favorable attitude changes toward the genetically modified foods when science news content is presented in infographics compared with text. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed herein.

GM trust shaped by trust determinants with the impact of risk/benefit framework: the contingent role of food technology neophobia

The present study is comparative in natures that focus on understanding the factors that influence the GM food trust level in the BRA framework and food technology neophobia in China and the USA. For this purpose, we collected 300 and 350 valid responses, respectively, through a structured questionnaire. By carefully evaluating the above relationships, we found that trust determinants such as institutional trust, technology trust, information revealed with GM food vary across both datasets. However, GM knowledge has a better association with GM food trust in both cases. Apart from this, the food technology neophobia slightly moderates the benefits-risk perception of consumers and GM trust. This study guides the policymakers to enhance GM knowledge, as GM food is scientifically proven safe for health and environment and can be a financial incentive for the farmers. Further, the study also provides direction for corporate managers to design effective marketing and communication strategies in two different countries by investigating GM food trust's primary motivators in both nations.

The Effects of Epistemic Trust and Social Trust on Public Acceptance of Genetically Modified Food: An Empirical Study from China

Most studies exploring the public acceptance of genetically modified food (GMF) are based on social trust and the establishment of a causal model. The underlying premise is that social trust indirectly affects public acceptance of GMF through perceived risks and perceived benefits. The object of social trust is trust in people, organizations, and institutions. Different from the social trust, epistemic trust refers to people's trust in scientific knowledge behind the technology of concern. It has been shown that epistemic trust, like social trust, is also an important factor that affects the public perception of applicable risks and benefits. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate epistemic trust into the causal model to derive a more complete explanation of public acceptance. However, such work has not been conducted to date. The causal model proposed in this paper integrated epistemic trust and social trust and divided social trust into trust in public organizations and trust in industrial organizations. A representative questionnaire survey (N = 1091) was conducted with Chinese adults. The model was analyzed by the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. Three major findings were obtained: First, epistemic trust is an important antecedent of perceived risks and perceived benefits and exerts a significant indirect effect on the acceptance of GMF. Secondly, trust in industrial organizations negatively impacts perceived risks, while trust in public organizations positively impacts perceived benefits. Thirdly, contrary to the common opinion, trust in industrial organizations did not exert a significant direct effect on perceived benefits, and trust in public organizations did not demonstrate a significant direct effect on perceived risks. Therefore, trust in industrial organizations and trust in public organizations utilize different influence paths on GMF acceptance. This study enriches the understanding of the influence path of trust with regard to the acceptance of emerging technologies and is of great significance to relevant risk-management practices.

Examining Personal and Media Factors Associated with Attitude towards Genetically Modified Foods among University Students in Kunming, China

Guided by the theory of reasoned action and media system dependency theory, this study examined attitude towards genetically modified foods (GMF) among university students in Kunming, China, as well as personal and media factors related to such attitude. Data were collected from an online survey with 467 university students across eight universities in Kunming. Results showed that attitude towards GMF were more negative than positive. Moreover, food neophobia and media attention were negatively associated with attitude towards GMF. In contrast, perceived benefit was positively associated with attitude towards GMF. Although the interaction between media dependency and media attention was significant, simple slope analysis confirmed that the interaction slopes were nonsignificant, suggesting that media attention did not moderate the association between media dependency and attitude towards GMF in this study. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The psychological perspective on the adoption of approved genetically modified crops in the presence of acceptability constraint: the contingent role of passion

This study contributes to the literature on genetically modified crops by examining the impact of psychological distance on farmer adoption. The existing body of literature suggests that some farmers have the conservative perception to adopt genetically modified crops because of controversies regarding the side effects and profitability. To understand these social problems, we have relied upon construal-level theory which argues farmer passion about dynamics like here and now, likely or unlikely and the near or far from self are vital for the adoption of approved genetically modified crops. The data for the present study collected from three Asian countries through questionnaire, for China 300, India 350, Philippines 300 valid responses collected. The study founds a positive relation of psychological distance based on passion with farmer trust behavior to adopt genetically modified crops over time. The findings of the present study provide new insights into the development of farmer acceptability and encourage the use of novel crop technologies.Abbreviations: GM, genetically modified; TD, temporal distance; SPD, Spatial distance; SD, Social distance; TB, trust behavior; AGMC, Approved Genetically modified crops; CLT, Construal Level Theory.

The Impact of Framing on Acceptance of Cultured Meat

Cultured meat can be produced from growing animal cells in-vitro rather than as part of a living animal. This technology has the potential to address several of the major ethical, environmental, and public health concerns associated with conventional meat production. However, research has highlighted some consumer uncertainty regarding the concept. Although several studies have examined the media coverage of this new food technology, research linking different frames to differences in consumer attitudes is lacking. In an experimental study, we expose U.S. adults (n = 480) to one of three different frames on cultured meat: “societal benefits,” “high tech,” and “same meat.” We demonstrate that those who encounter cultured meat through the “high tech” frame have significantly more negative attitudes toward the concept, and are significantly less likely to consume it. Worryingly, this has been a very dominant frame in early media coverage of cultured meat. Whilst this is arguably inevitable, since its technologically advanced nature is what makes it newsworthy, we argue that this high tech framing may be causing consumers to develop more negative attitudes toward cultured meat than they otherwise might. Implications for producers and researchers are discussed.

Examining German Media Coverage of the Re-Evaluation of Glyphosate

This study investigates media coverage of the re-evaluation process of glyphosate from 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2018. In a comparative, qualitative print media analysis, the promotion of claims and the use of narratives of Die Zeit, a weekly newspaper, and top agrar, an agricultural trade journal, are explored. Results identify noticeable differences in both media outlets’ news reporting. Whereas Die Zeit focused on potential health risks and the scientific controversy, top agrar’s coverage emphasized the harmlessness of glyphosate. The multifaceted use of narratives by Die Zeit contrasts with the comparatively low use of narratives by top agrar.

Framing genetically modified mosquitoes in the online news and Twitter: Intermedia frame setting in the issue-attention cycle

We investigate how the online news and Twitter framed the discussion about genetically modified mosquitoes, and the interplay between the two media platforms. The study is grounded in the theoretical frameworks of intermedia agenda setting, framing, and the issue-attention cycle and combines methods of manual and computational content analysis, and time series analysis. The findings show that the Twitter discussion was more benefit-oriented, while the news coverage was more balanced. Initially, Twitter played a leading role in framing the discussion about genetically modified mosquitoes. When the public learned about the issue, online news gained momentum and led the Twitter publics to discuss the risks of genetically modified mosquitoes. Based on the findings, we argue that the intermedia frame setting may change its direction over time, and different media outlets may be influential in leading different aspects of the conversation.

Farmers prevailing perception profiles regarding GM crops: A classification proposal

Genetically modified organisms have been at the centre of a major public controversy, involving different interests and actors. While much attention has been devoted to consumer views on genetically modified food, there have been few attempts to understand the perceptions of genetically modified technology among farmers. By investigating perceptions of genetically modified organisms among Brazilian farmers, we intend to contribute towards filling this gap and thereby add the views of this stakeholder group to the genetically modified debate. A comparative analysis of our data and data from other studies indicate there is a complex variety of views on genetically modified organisms among farmers. Despite this diversity, we found variations in such views occur within limited parameters, concerned principally with expectations or concrete experiences regarding the advantages of genetically modified crops, perceptions of risks associated with them, and ethical questions they raise. We then propose a classification of prevailing profiles to represent the spectrum of perceptions of genetically modified organisms among farmers.

The ethical concerns about transgenic crops

It is generally accepted that transgenesis can improve our knowledge of natural processes, but also leads to agricultural, industrial or socio-economical changes which could affect human society at large and which may, consequently, require regulation. It is often stated that developing countries are most likely to benefit from plant biotechnology and are at the same time most likely to be affected by the deployment of such new technologies. Therefore, ethical questions related to such biotechnology probably also need to be addressed. We first illustrate how consequentialist and nonconsequentialist theories of ethics can be applied to the genetically modified organism debate, namely consequentialism, autonomy/consent ethics (i.e. self-determination of people regarding matters that may have an effect on these people) and virtue ethics (i.e. whether an action is in adequacy with ideal traits). We show that these approaches lead to highly conflicting views. We have then refocused on moral 'imperatives', such as freedom, justice and truth. Doing so does not resolve all conflicting views, but allows a gain in clarity in the sense that the ethical concerns are shifted from a technology (and its use) to the morality or amorality of various stakeholders of this debate.

Meeting report: GARNet/OpenPlant CRISPR-Cas workshop

Targeted genome engineering has been described as a "game-changing technology" for fields as diverse as human genetics and plant biotechnology. One technique used for precise gene editing utilises the CRISPR-Cas system and is an effective method for genetic engineering in a wide variety of plants. However, many researchers remain unaware of both the technical challenges that emerge when using this technique or of its potential benefits. Therefore in September 2015, GARNet and OpenPlant organized a two-day workshop at the John Innes Centre that provided both background information and hands-on training for this important technology.

Attitudes to genetically modified food over time: How trust in organizations and the media cycle predict support

This research examined public opinion toward genetically modified plants and animals for food, and how trust in organizations and media coverage explained attitudes toward these organisms. Nationally representative samples (N=8821) over 10 years showed Australians were less positive toward genetically modified animals compared to genetically modified plants for food, especially in years where media coverage was high. Structural equation modeling found that positive attitudes toward different genetically modified organisms for food were significantly associated with higher trust in scientists and regulators (e.g. governments), and with lower trust in watchdogs (e.g. environmental movement). Public trust in scientists and watchdogs was a stronger predictor of attitudes toward the use of genetically modified plants for food than animals, but only when media coverage was low. Results are discussed regarding the moral acceptability of genetically modified organisms for food, the media's role in shaping public opinion, and the role public trust in organizations has on attitudes toward genetically modified organisms.

A comparative analysis of media reporting of perceived risks and benefits of genetically modified crops and foods in Kenyan and international newspapers

We empirically examine the reporting on biotechnology in Kenyan and international newspapers between 2010 and early 2014. We identify news articles that reported on biotechnology and analyze their use of words to determine whether there is a balance in the reporting of perceived risks and benefits. We also consider how the sources used in news articles and how the publication of the Séralini study of rats fed genetically modified maize affect the balance of reporting of perceived risks and benefits. We find that in Kenyan news reporting, more articles mention perceived benefits than risks, but when risks are mentioned, new articles contain more references to risks than to benefits. We also find that sources affect the reporting of perceived risks and benefits and that the Séralini study increased the likelihood that perceived risks are reported in Kenyan news reporting, but not in international newspapers.

"Healthy" discussions about risk: The Corn Refiners Association's strategic negotiation of authority in the debate over high fructose corn syrup

Many foods and eating practices have been framed as risky by risk societies. Recently, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has become a highly scrutinized food additive. Informed by a social construction of risk framework, I analyze the discursive contributions of the Corn Refiners Association, a trade association, to public negotiations of HFCS risks. I describe how the association's Sweet Surprise campaign advertisements rely on a deficit model to shape understandings of who should participate in conversations about HFCS. I conclude by exploring the practical implications of this analysis, particularly how trade associations can negotiate tensions between promoting health and serving commercial interests, and how these decisions contribute to understandings of the public's role in risk negotiation.

Frames, claims and audiences: Construction of food allergies in the Canadian media

Food allergies are newly emerging health risks, and some evidence indicates that their prevalence is increasing. Public perception, however, is that the prevalence of food allergies is much greater than systematic estimates suggest. As food allergies increasingly permeate everyday life, this paper explores how associated risks are constructed through the mass media. In particular, nine years of media coverage of food allergies are analysed through the lens of issue framing and claims-making. Results show that advocates and affected individuals dominate discussions around policy action, while researchers and health professionals are diagnosing the causes of food allergy. Results also suggest that there is competition over the definition of food allergies, which may, in turn, be shaping public understanding of the related risks. There is also an indication that the framing of food allergies is evolving over time, and that the discussion is becoming increasingly one-sided with affected individuals leading the charge.

Chinese newspaper coverage of genetically modified organisms

Background

Debates persist around the world over the development and use of genetically modified organisms (GMO). News media has been shown to both reflect and influence public perceptions of health and science related debates, as well as policy development. To better understand the news coverage of GMOs in China, we analyzed the content of articles in two Chinese newspapers that relate to the development and promotion of genetically modified technologies and GMOs.

Methods

Searching in the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Core Newspaper Database (CNKI-CND), we collected 77 articles, including news reports, comments and notes, published between January 2002 and August 2011 in two of the major Chinese newspapers: People’s Daily and Guangming Daily. We examined articles for perspectives that were discussed and/or mentioned regarding GMOs, the risks and benefits of GMOs, and the tone of news articles.

Results

The newspaper articles reported on 29 different kinds of GMOs. Compared with the possible risks, the benefits of GMOs were much more frequently discussed in the articles. 48.1% of articles were largely supportive of the GM technology research and development programs and the adoption of GM cottons, while 51.9% of articles were neutral on the subject of GMOs. Risks associated with GMOs were mentioned in the newspaper articles, but none of the articles expressed negative tones in regards to GMOs.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that the Chinese print media is largely supportive of GMOs. It also indicates that the print media describes the Chinese government as actively pursuing national GMO research and development programs and the promotion of GM cotton usage. So far, discussion of the risks associated with GMOs is minimal in the news reports. The media, scientists, and the government should work together to ensure that science communication is accurate and balanced.