The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis.
Many Americans still believe, contrary to the scientific consensus, that GMOs are unsafe to eat.
A new HuffPost/YouGov poll shows that 39 percent of respondents said they believe GMOs are “generally unsafe” to eat, compared with 33 percent who believe them to be safe. Another 27 percent said they were unsure.
The most striking divisions in perceptions of GMO safety had nothing to do with political party affiliation, as one might have guessed based on the spirited debate on the labeling legislation in Washington.
Instead, education level and family income showed the widest gaps. Forty-nine percent of respondents with a college degree said they believe GMOs are generally safe, compared with 36 percent who had completed some college and just 22 percent who completed high school or less.
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The poll did find a wide gap along party lines on questions about trusting scientists.
Half of Democratic respondents agreed that they trusted scientists “a lot,” but only 19 percent of Republicans did. . . .
The poll showed that respondents who trust scientists tend to believe GMO foods are safe. . . .
That overlap is in line with the results of a 2015 Pew poll that found the gap between opinions in the scientific community and the general public on various scientific advancements to be wider on GMOs than any other issue that was included in the poll.
Read full, original post: Support For GMOs Rises With Education Level
