Public Perceptions of Agricultural Biotechnologies in Europe: Report of the PABE project funded by the European Commission, DG Research (contract number: FAIR CT98-3844 (DG12 - SSMI)

TY - BOOK

T1 - Public Perceptions of Agricultural Biotechnologies in Europe

T2 - Report of the PABE project funded by the European Commission, DG Research (contract number: FAIR CT98-3844 (DG12 - SSMI)

AU - Marris, Claire

AU - Wynne, Brian

AU - Simmons, Peter

AU - Weldon, Sue

PY - 2001/12

Y1 - 2001/12

N2 - The research presented here reveals that stakeholders in the GM debate misunderstand public responses to GMOs, and that this represents one of the key underlying causes for the current impasse in the GM debate.Characterisations of public responses to GMOs in decision-making circles are typically framed either in terms of a lack of knowledge - prompting moves to educate the public - or of 'non-scientific' 'ethical' concerns - resulting in the appointment of expert ethical advisers or public consultations about the social acceptability of GMOs. This report argues that these dominant characterisations of the public, and the policies which derive from them, do not capture the full nature of public concerns, nor do they recognise the social, cultural and institutional factors shaping those concerns. The research reported here reveals a more complex picture, in which the distinctions often made between 'real risk' and 'perceived risk', between 'risk' and 'ethical' concerns, or between 'scientific' and 'non-scientific' concerns, are blurred. Our research not only highlights the dynamics of societal concerns but also traces them back to the problems inherent in official views of the public and its perceptions of technological risk.

AB - The research presented here reveals that stakeholders in the GM debate misunderstand public responses to GMOs, and that this represents one of the key underlying causes for the current impasse in the GM debate.Characterisations of public responses to GMOs in decision-making circles are typically framed either in terms of a lack of knowledge - prompting moves to educate the public - or of 'non-scientific' 'ethical' concerns - resulting in the appointment of expert ethical advisers or public consultations about the social acceptability of GMOs. This report argues that these dominant characterisations of the public, and the policies which derive from them, do not capture the full nature of public concerns, nor do they recognise the social, cultural and institutional factors shaping those concerns. The research reported here reveals a more complex picture, in which the distinctions often made between 'real risk' and 'perceived risk', between 'risk' and 'ethical' concerns, or between 'scientific' and 'non-scientific' concerns, are blurred. Our research not only highlights the dynamics of societal concerns but also traces them back to the problems inherent in official views of the public and its perceptions of technological risk.

M3 - Report

BT - Public Perceptions of Agricultural Biotechnologies in Europe

PB - University of Lancaster

ER -