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

Insights into Salinity Tolerance in Wheat

Salt stress has a detrimental impact on food crop production, with its severity escalating due to both natural and man-made factors. As one of the most important food crops, wheat is susceptible to salt stress, resulting in abnormal plant growth and reduced yields; therefore, damage from salt stress should be of great concern. Additionally, the utilization of land in coastal areas warrants increased attention, given diminishing supplies of fresh water and arable land, and the escalating demand for wheat. A comprehensive understanding of the physiological and molecular changes in wheat under salt stress can offer insights into mitigating the adverse effects of salt stress on wheat. In this review, we summarized the genes and molecular mechanisms involved in ion transport, signal transduction, and enzyme and hormone regulation, in response to salt stress based on the physiological processes in wheat. Then, we surveyed the latest progress in improving the salt tolerance of wheat through breeding, exogenous applications, and microbial pathways. Breeding efficiency can be improved through a combination of gene editing and multiple omics techniques, which is the fundamental strategy for dealing with salt stress. Possible challenges and prospects in this process were also discussed.

Examining the key determinants of the jordanian customer's adoption of genetically modified food

Genetically modified food (GMF) is one of the most debated issues in the food market. There has been considerable interest from both academic researchers and policy makers regarding the antecedents and consequences of the commercial adoption of GMF applications. Conceptually, GMF can be defined as "Genetically modified (hereafter GM) foods are produced from genetically modified seeds or ingredients derived from plants or animals whose DNA has been manipulated using genetic engineering methods" [1, p. 2861]. However, only a limited number of studies have tested the related issues of GMF products from a customer perspective. Thus, this project intends to discover and examine the main drivers and hindrances in predicting customers' intention and buying decision behaviour in developing Arabian countries (i.e., Jordan). A diffusion of innovations (DOIs) model was selected as the theoretical basis for the current study project. A field survey study was conducted to collect the requested quantitative data from a convenience sample of Jordanian customers. Statistical results largely supported the role of relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, social approval, awareness, perceived risk and price value on the behavioural intention to adopt GMF products, which in turn significantly predicted actual adoption behaviour. The results of the current project will hopefully expand the current academic understanding of the main factors that predict Jordanian customers' perception and adoption of GMF products.

Consumer Attitude towards Genetically Modified Foods in Iran: Application of Three-Dimensional Model of Corporate Social Responsibility

Although GM food production is considered an important strategy to meet the growing food needs of the population around the world, a majority of the GM food consumers express doubts about purchasing and eating them. However, it can be argued that consumers have different opinions about GM foods and their influence on human health and the natural environment. GM food producer Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) may significantly affect such opinions, but the effect of this variable has been partially neglected in previous research studies. To address this gap, the present study investigates Iranian consumers' concerns about GM foods, trust in these products, and perception of GM food producer CSR as determinants of attitudes towards GM food. Data were collected from Iranian consumers. A cross-sectional survey research with a multi-stage random sampling approach was employed to capture the responses of 372 Iranian consumers. The results showed that consumers have both negative and positive attitudes towards GM foods. Perceived social equity, trust, and health concerns were the most important determinants of attitude towards GM foods. According to the results, these variables could account for 52.9% (Cox and Snell R²) and up to 70.6% (Nagelkerke R²) of the variance of the dependent variable. Furthermore, results revealed statistically significant differences among the consumers with different educational levels in terms of perceived social equity, perceived environmental responsibility, and environmental concern. The research contributes to the body of knowledge in GM food consumption by evolving the CSR to assess attitudes of users concerning GM foods.

Towards social acceptability of genome-edited plants in industrialised countries? Emerging evidence from Europe, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan

The agricultural biotechnology world has been divided into two blocks; countries adopting GM crops for commercial cultivation (adopters) and others without any or without relevant cultivation of such crops (non-adopters). Meanwhile, an increasing number of adopter countries have exempted certain genome-edited (GE) crops from legal GMO pre-market approval and labelling requirements. Among them are major exporters of agricultural commodities such as United States, Canada, and Australia. Due to the relaxed legislation more GE plants are expected to enter the market soon. Many countries in the non-adopter group, however, depend on import of large volumes of agricultural commodities from adopter countries. Unlike first generation GM, certain GE crops cannot be identified as unambiguously originating from genome editing using available techniques. Consequently, pressure is mounting on non-adopter jurisdictions to reconsider their policies and legislations. Against this backdrop, the paper explores recent developments relevant for social acceptability in selected non-adopters, Japan, New Zealand, the EU, Norway, and Switzerland in contrast to United States, Canada, and Australia. While Japan is already opening-up and Norway and Switzerland are discussing revisions of their policies, the EU and New Zealand are struggling with challenges resulting from high court decisions. In an attempt to take a closer look into the inner dynamics of these developments, the concept of social acceptability proposed by Wüstenhagen et al. (Energy Policy, 2007, 35(5), 2683-2691) is employed. This aids the understanding of developments in the jurisdictions considered and identifies specific or cross-cutting challenges.

Associations between conspiracism and the rejection of scientific innovations

Public opinion regarding scientific developments such as genetically modified food can be mixed. We suggest such science-based technological innovations are rejected by some because they are perceived to be advanced as part of a conspiracy. In nationally representative samples (Australia n = 1011; New Zealand n = 754), we report the associations between five conspiracism facets and anti-science attitudes. Results indicate broad public opposition to genetically modified food and use of nuclear power, but more acceptance of renewable power, potable recycled water, 5G networks, and childhood vaccinations. There were small to moderate associations between the rejection of scientific innovations and conspiracism. Multivariate models estimating unique associations of conspiracism facets with anti-science attitudes suggested several novel and important relationships, particularly for childhood vaccination, genetically modified food, and 5G networks. We discuss the importance of examining factors such as conspiracism in understanding what may motivate and sustain rejection of scientific evidence-based claims about socially contentious technological innovations.

In the Wake of Scandals: How Media Use and Social Trust Influence Risk Perception and Vaccination Intention among Chinese Parents

Recently, repeated childhood vaccine scandals shook public confidence in vaccine safety in China. This study explores whether media attention, online discussion, and social trust influence Chinese parents' risk perception and vaccination intention. Based on data from a Qualtrics panel (N = 354), results indicate that media attention is positively related to social trust and online discussion is positively related to perceived benefits. Additionally, social trust is negatively associated with perceived risk but positively associated with perceived benefits. Social trust is also positively related to general vaccination intention and intention to get domestic vaccines. Further, social trust mediates the relationship between media attention/online discussion and risk perception. Lastly, parents with higher risk perception are less likely to get domestic vaccines, but more likely to get imported vaccines. Perceived benefits also influence vaccination intention.

Public attitudes toward dairy farm practices and technology related to milk production

Dairy farm systems have intensified to meet growing demands for animal products, but public opposition to this intensification has also grown due, in part, to concerns about animal welfare. One approach to addressing challenges in agricultural systems has been through the addition of new technologies, including genetic modification. Previous studies have reported some public resistance towards the use of these technologies in agriculture, but this research has assessed public attitudes toward individual practices and technologies and few studies have examined a range of practices on dairy farms. In the present study, we presented participants with four scenarios describing dairy practices (cow-calf separation, the fate of excess dairy calves, pasture access and disbudding). Citizens from Canada and the United States (n = 650) indicated their support (on a 7-point scale) toward five approaches (maintaining standard farm practice, using a naturalistic approach, using a technological approach, or switching to plant-based or yeast-based milk production) aimed at addressing the welfare issues associated with the four dairy practices. Respondents also provided a text-based rationale for their responses and answered a series of demographic questions including age, gender, and diet. Participant diet affected attitudes toward milk alternatives, with vegetarians and vegans showing more support for the plant-based and yeast-based milk production. Regardless of diet, most participants opposed genetic modification technologies and supported more naturalistic practices. Qualitative responses provided insight into participants’ values and concerns, and illustrated a variety of perceived benefits and concerns related to the options presented. Common themes included animal welfare, ethics of animal use, and opposition toward technology. We conclude that Canadian and US citizens consider multiple aspects of farm systems when contemplating animal welfare concerns, and tend to favor naturalistic approaches over technological solutions, especially when the latter are based on genetic modification.

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.

How consumers' perception and information processing affect their acceptance of genetically modified foods in China: A risk communication perspective

This study aims to explore the roles of consumers' risk and benefit perception and food information processes in predicting their acceptance of genetically modified food. We integrate the protective action decision and heuristic systematic models to develop a conceptual model to predict customers' purchase intention. We conducted a survey questionnaire with measures adapted from existing Likert scales. We used a sample of 573 respondents from Shandong Province, China, comprising people who had ever purchased genetically modified products. We tested our hypotheses using a structural equation model. Results suggest that perceived risk is a negative determinant of purchase intention, while perceived benefit is a positive factor of purchase intention. Moreover, perceived benefit is an important predictor of purchase intention. Perceived risk significantly affects information need, information seeking, and systematic processing. Perceived benefit has a positive relationship with information need and systematic processing. Information seeking is stimulated by information need and further predicts systematic processing. Our results suggest the effectiveness of the protective action decision and heuristic systematic models in predicting people's intention to purchase genetically modified food and highlight the importance of risk communications in this context.

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.

Public perceptions of who counts as a scientist for controversial science

In an era where expertise is increasingly critiqued, this study draws from the research on expertise and scientist stereotyping to explore who the public considers to be a scientist in the context of media coverage about climate change and genetically modified organisms. Using survey data from the United States, we find that political ideology and science knowledge affect who the US public believes is a scientist in these domains. Our results suggest important differences in the role of science media attention and science media selection in the publics "scientist" labeling. In addition, we replicate previous work and find that compared to other people who work in science, those with PhDs in Biology and Chemistry are most commonly seen as scientists.

Entomology in the 21st Century: Tackling Insect Invasions, Promoting Advancements in Technology, and Using Effective Science Communication-2018 Student Debates

The 2018 student debates of the Entomological Society of America were held at the Joint Annual Meeting for the Entomological Societies of America, Canada, and British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. Three unbiased introductory speakers and six debate teams discussed and debated topics under the theme 'Entomology in the 21st Century: Tackling Insect Invasions, Promoting Advancements in Technology, and Using Effective Science Communication'. This year's debate topics included: 1) What is the most harmful invasive insect species in the world? 2) How can scientists diffuse the stigma or scare factor surrounding issues that become controversial such as genetically modified organisms, agricultural biotechnological developments, or pesticide chemicals? 3) What new/emerging technologies have the potential to revolutionize entomology (other than Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)? Introductory speakers and debate teams spent approximately 9 mo preparing their statements and arguments and had the opportunity to share this at the Joint Annual Meeting with an engaged audience.

Distinguishing scientific knowledge: The impact of different measures of knowledge on genetically modified food attitudes

The impact of knowledge on public attitudes toward scientific issues remains unclear, due in part to ill-defined differences in how research designs conceptualize knowledge. Using genetically modified foods as a framework, we explore the impacts of perceived familiarity and factual knowledge, and the moderating roles of media attention and a food-specific attitudinal variable (food consciousness), in shaping these relationships. Based on the differential effects on "negative attitudes" toward genetically modified foods, we provide further evidence that the measures of knowledge are separate concepts and argue against a one-dimensional view of scientific knowledge. We discuss implications for understanding the relationship between knowledge and science attitudes.

What Do We Know About Chain Actors' Evaluation of New Food Technologies? A Systematic Review of Consumer and Farmer Studies

New food technologies, such as genetic modification, food fortification, and processing technologies, are of growing interest for future food security and safety. For ensuring successful implementation of such technologies, consumers and other food supply chain actors should embrace them. We present a systematic review to identify and compare key factors of supply chain actors' evaluation of new food technologies. Evaluation encompasses indicators such as likelihood or intention to perform a behavior, perceived benefits/risks, willingness to pay, acceptance/adoption, and attitudes. Results from 183 studies showed several imbalances in research. Although studies mainly focused on (1) genetically modified foods, (2) by consumers, (3) in developed countries, only very few studies have targeted other food technologies, other supply chain actors such as farmers (13 studies) or processors (two studies), or developing countries (43 studies). With respect to consumers' evaluation, key determinants were trust in institutions, information assessment, perceived risks and benefits, attitudes toward the product or technology, perceived behavioral control, quality perception of the product, and impact on health. Farmers' evaluation of new food technologies was explained by the factors of perceived risk and benefits and of actual source of information. For the few processor evaluation studies, no convergence of factors could be reached. This systematic review contributes to a better understanding of consumers' and farmers' evaluation behavior and opens up avenues for future research on supply chain actors' food technology evaluations. The differences in the conceptualization and measurement of extracted factors demonstrate the need for standardized approaches in future studies.

Predicting Public Attitudes Toward Gene Editing of Germlines: The Impact of Moral and Hereditary Concern in Human and Animal Applications

Background and Objective: New and more efficient methods of gene editing have intensified the ethical and legal issues associated with editing germlines. Yet no research has separated the impact of hereditary concern on public attitudes from moral concern. This research compares the impact these two concerns have on public attitudes across five applications including, the prevention of human disease, human and animal research, animals for the use of human food and the enhancement of human appearance. Methods: A sample of 1004 Australians responded to either a telephone (n = 501; randomly selected) or online survey (n = 503; sourced by Qualtrics). Both samples were representative in terms of States and Territories as well as gender (51% female), though the online sample was younger (M = 40.64, SD = 16.98; Range = 18-87) than the telephone sample (M = 54.79, SD = 18.13; Range = 18-96). A 5 (application) by 3 (type of cell) within groups design was utilized, where all respondents reported their level of approval with scientists editing genes across the 15 different contexts. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the impact of moral (embryo vs. germ) and hereditary (germ vs. somatic) concern on attitudes across all applications. Results: Australians were comfortable with editing human and animal embryos, but only for research purposes and to enhance human health. The effect of moral concern was stronger than hereditary concern, existing in all applications except for the use of animals for human purposes. Hereditary concern was only found to influence attitudes in two applications: improving human health and human research. Moral concern was found to be accentuated amongst, women, more religious individuals and those identifying as Australian, while hereditary concern was strongest amongst non-Australians, those with stronger trust in scientists, and more religious respondents. Conclusion: Moral and hereditary concerns are distinct, and require different approaches to public education, engagement and possibly regulation. Further research needs to explore hereditary concern in relation to non-human applications, and the reasons underlying cultural and gender differences.

Best practices in nutrition science to earn and keep the public's trust

Public trust in nutrition science is the foundation on which nutrition and health progress is based, including sound public health. An ASN-commissioned, independent Advisory Committee comprehensively reviewed the literature and available public surveys about the public's trust in nutrition science and the factors that influence it and conducted stakeholder outreach regarding publicly available information. The Committee selected 7 overlapping domains projected to significantly influence public trust: 1) conflict of interest and objectivity; 2) public benefit; 3) standards of scientific rigor and reproducibility; 4) transparency; 5) equity; 6) information dissemination (education, communication, and marketing); and 7) accountability. The literature review comprehensively explored current practices and threats to public trust in nutrition science, including gaps that erode trust. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of peer-reviewed material specifically focused on nutrition science. Available material was examined, and its analysis informed the development of priority best practices. The Committee proposed best practices to support public trust, appropriate to ASN and other food and nutrition organizations motivated by the conviction that public trust remains key to the realization of the benefits of past, present, and future scientific advances. The adoption of the best practices by food and nutrition organizations, such as ASN, other stakeholder organizations, researchers, food and nutrition professionals, companies, government officials, and individuals working in the food and nutrition space would strengthen and help ensure earning and keeping the public's continued trust in nutrition science.

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.

Factors influencing residents' acceptance (support) of remediation technologies

An increasing diversity of technologies are being used to remediate contaminated sites, yet there remains little understanding of the level of acceptance that residents living near these sites hold for these technologies, and what factors influence their level of acceptance. This lack of understanding hinders the remediation industry's ability to effectively engage with these residents about remediation technology selection, at a time when such engagement is become part and parcel of remediation policy and practice. The study develops on wider research into public acceptance of technologies, using data from a telephone survey of 2009 residents living near thirteen contaminated sites across Australia. Within the survey acceptance is measured through residents' level of support for the application of remediation technologies in their local area. Firstly, a regression analysis of closed-ended questions, and coding of open-ended questions are combined to identify the main predictors of residents' support for remediation technologies. Secondly, coding of open-ended questions was analysed using Crawford and Ostrom's Institutional Grammar Tool to identify norms and sanctions guiding residents' willingness to negotiate their support. The research identifies factors associated with the residents' personal and demographic characteristics, their physical context and engagement with institution during remediation processes, and the technologies themselves which predict residents' level of support for the application of remediation technologies. Bioremediation technologies had higher levels of support than chemical, thermal and physical technologies. Furthermore, the paper identifies a core set of norms and sanctions residents use to negotiate their level of support for remediation technologies.

Scientists and religious leaders compete for cultural authority of science

Measurement of public trust in sources of information about science primarily examines whether the public turns to the "science communication industry" for information about science. Research posits, however, that scientists are not the singular cultural authority on science. Here, we examine the extent to which people turn to religion and religious individuals for information about science. Drawing on a nationally representative survey of US adults, we examine what factors-when individuals have a question about science-shape respondent's likelihood of turning to science-based versus religion-based sources. Results show that religiosity is a strong positive predictor of looking to religious sources for scientific information, but it does not deter seeking out scientific sources. The results also show that interest in science has a positive influence on the likelihood of turning to a religious source.

Basic-education mexican teachers' knowledge of biotechnology and attitudes about the consumption of genetically modified foods

Over the past few years, a new research field has emerged, focusing on the social-scientific criteria for the study of opinions toward genetically modified foods (GMFs), since these may be limiting factors for the success or failure of these products. Basic education is the first step in the Mexican education system, and teachers may wield an outsized influence on the attitudes and preferences of children, prospective future consumers of these products. To better understand the current state of knowledge of biotechnology issues and opinions toward the consumption of GMF of Mexican teachers, a questionnaire was distributed, and 362 Mexican teachers of basic education responded. The survey included questions about the benefits and risks of consuming GMF. The mean percentage of teachers expressing knowledge of a given topic in biotechnology was 50%. More than 60% of teachers believed that GMFs would be useful in preventing world hunger, while 39.2% considered GMF to be hazards for future generations. Although 47.0% reported not having enough knowledge about these topics, almost all (90.3%) respondents expressed an interest and willingness to learn about biotechnology. In light of the fact that teachers of basic education represent the first and potentially most lasting stage in the education of young children, this survey establishes the urgent need to develop strategies to improve the scientific knowledge of teachers and to facilitate decision making and the promotion of scientific and technological advances for their students. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(5):396-402, 2017.

Decomposing the effects of time on the social acceptability of biotechnology using age-period-cohort-country models

The study of European attitudes toward biotechnologies underlines a situation that is relatively contrasting in Europe. However, as different effects of time can influence the social attitudes (a life-cycle effect, a generational effect, and an exogenous temporal effect potentially affecting the entire population), an appropriate methodology should be used. To this end, age-period-cohort-country models have thus been estimated based on Eurobarometer data from 1991 onward. Applied to different data subsets, these models give similar results underlining the importance of the life-cycle effects as well as the heterogeneity of the link between political affiliation and biotechnologies attitudes across the European countries.

How scary! An analysis of visual communication concerning genetically modified organisms in Italy

Several studies provide evidence of the role of written communication in influencing public perception towards genetically modified organisms, whereas visual communication has been sparsely investigated. This article aims to evaluate the exposure of the Italian population to scary genetically modified organism-related images. A set of 517 images collected through Google are classified considering fearful attributes, and an index that accounts for the scary impact of these images is built. Then, through an ordinary least-squares regression, we estimate the relationship between the Scary Impact Index and a set of variables that describes the context in which the images appear. The results reveal that the first (and most viewed) Google result images contain the most frightful contents. In addition, the agri-food sector in Italy is strongly oriented towards offering a negative representation of genetically modified organisms. Exposure to scary images could be a factor that affects the negative perception of genetically modified organisms in Italy.

Bioengineering microbial communities: Their potential to help, hinder and disgust

The bioengineering of individual microbial organisms or microbial communities has great potential in agriculture, bioremediation and industry. Understanding community level drivers can improve community level functions to enhance desired outcomes in complex environments, whereas individual microbes can be reduced to a programmable biological unit for specific output goals. While understanding the bioengineering potential of both approaches leads to a wide range of potential uses, public acceptance of such technology may be the greatest hindrance to its application. Public perceptions and expectations of “naturalness,” as well as notions of disgust and dread, may delay the development of such technologies to their full benefit. We discuss these bioengineering approaches and draw on the psychological literature to suggest strategies that scientists can use to allay public concerns over the implementation of this technology.

Trust increases euthanasia acceptance: a multilevel analysis using the European Values Study

BACKGROUND

This study tests how various kinds of trust impact attitudes toward euthanasia among the general public. The indication that trust might have an impact on euthanasia attitudes is based on the slippery slope argument, which asserts that allowing euthanasia might lead to abuses and involuntary deaths. Adopting this argument usually leads to less positive attitudes towards euthanasia. Tying in with this, it is assumed here that greater trust diminishes such slippery slope fears, and thereby increases euthanasia acceptance.

METHODS

The effects of various trust indicators on euthanasia acceptance were tested using multilevel analysis, and data from the European Values Study 2008 (N = 49,114, 44 countries). More precisely, the influence of people's general levels of trust in other people, and their confidence in the health care system, were measured--both at the individual and at the country level. Confidence in the state and the press were accounted for as well, since both institutions might monitor and safeguard euthanasia practices.

RESULTS

It was shown that the level of trust in a country was strongly positively linked to euthanasia attitudes, both for general trust and for confidence in health care. In addition, within countries, people who perceived their fellow citizens as trustworthy, and who had confidence in the press, were more supportive of euthanasia than their less trusting counterparts. The pattern was, however, not true for confidence in the state and for confidence in the health care system at the individual level. Notably, all confirmative effects held, even when other variables such as religiosity, education, and values regarding autonomy were controlled for.

CONCLUSIONS

Trust seems to be a noteworthy construct to explain differences in attitudes towards euthanasia, especially when drawing cross-country comparisons. Therefore, it should be added to the existing literature on correlates of euthanasia attitudes.

Ascendancy of agricultural biotechnology in the Australian political mainstream coexists with technology criticism by a vocal-minority

Australia is a federation of States. This political structure necessitates collaborative arrangements between Australian governments to harmonize national regulation of gene technology and food standards. Extensive political negotiation among institutions of federal government has managed regulation of GM crops and food. Well-developed human resources in Australian government provided numerous policy documents facilitating a transparent political process. Workable legislation has been devised in the face of criticisms of gene technology though the political process. Conflicts between potential disruptions to food commodity trade by precautionary proposals for environmental protection were one cause of political tensions, and differences in policy priorities at regional political levels versus national and international forums for negotiation were another. Australian policy outcomes on GM crops reflect (a) strong economic self-interest in innovative and productive farming, (b) reliance on global agricultural market reforms through the Cairns trade group and the WTO, and (c) the importance of Codex Alimentarius and WTO instruments SPS and TBT. Precautionary frameworks for GM food safety assurance that are inconsistent with WTO obligations were avoided in legislation. Since 2008 the 2 major parties, Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Liberals appear to have reached a workable consensus at the Federal policy level about an important role for agricultural biotechnology in Australia's economic future.