There have always been many conflicting opinions regarding GMOs and their impact on human and environmental health, but mistrust in GMOs has actually grown over time. In a survey conducted by the PEW Research Center, the percentage of US adults that believe that GMOs are less healthy than non-GMOs has risen from 39% in 2016 to 51% in 2019. They do typically believe that the cultivation of GMOs will increase the availability of food to global populations, but 53% of US adults believe that GMOs will have negative environmental effects.

Widespread opposition for GMOs is concerning and can likely be attributed to a lack of education about genetic engineering and genes in general. Nothing displays how much education is warranted like looking at what people actually know, as it shows what areas most desperately need to be attended to. The lack of knowledge US citizens have regarding genetic modification is exemplified in a survey completed by 1201 respondents in 2003, in which 60% of participants reported that “[t]omatoes modified with genes from a catfish would probably taste fishy,” and 68% believed that eating transgenic fruit can cause consumers’ own genes to be edited (Hallman et al.). The average consumer does not understand how genomes are edited, and humans are extremely wary of things they do not understand. Opponents of GMOs can easily persuade these uneducated individuals by labelling them as “unnatural” and insisting that they might cause adverse health effects, despite none being found after several tests. Perhaps most disturbing is that 59% of participants claimed that tomatoes do not have genes, but genetically modified tomatoes do, showcasing exactly how little US citizens know about genetics (Hallman et al.). Better education and control of misinformation is crucial, because an entire population with a fundamental misunderstanding of a major aspect of GMOs, which have the potential to significantly impact every human, is dangerous to itself and others. Only three of the 500 respondents of a survey given in 2004 containing the original questions and four additional ones got all 12 questions correct (Hallman et al.). The study conducted in 2003 is old and in need of a replication, but the staggering proportion of incorrect answers given shows that the way information surrounding genetic modification is deeply flawed. Modern opinions on GMOs also reflect skepticism of genetic modification that is largely unsupported by scientific studies.

A long-overdue short Synopsis! I originally wanted to make this week’s post even shorter, just including the PEW survey, but that would have wound up being like three sentences long and it didn’t feel substantial enough. I was dismayed writing this article that the most recent replication of the 2003 study was done the following year; as far as I know, it hasn’t been repeated since. I’m actually considering writing a similar survey and compiling modern data on this topic, but any setting in which I offered this survey would result in skewed data (if I asked people at school, then all respondents would have some degree of college education and be around the same age living in the same area). Regardless, I think it would be interesting for personal reference.

I hope you enjoyed reading about GMOs, because I have another article queued up next week on Golden Rice! It is incredibly frustrating to me to read about all of the confusion, misinformation, and mistrust when it comes to genetic engineering, and it inspires me to spread my knowledge on the subject to others. Next week’s article is a bit longer, but I’m feeling pretty good about it! Stay tuned to learn with me!

About half of U.S. adults are wary of health effects of genetically modified foods, but many also see advantages

About half of U.S. adults are wary of health effects of genetically modified foods, but many also see advantages

https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/18175/?v=pdf