[Editor’s note: Heather Bray is a senior research associate and Rachel Ankeny is a professor of history, both at the University of Adelaide in Australia.]
We wondered how women involved in the production of GM crops made their food choices, whether they used “science” when they chose food for themselves and their families, and whether their decision-making was different from that of women with less science education.
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A key difference between them was that the plant scientists did not see food made using GM techniques to be in conflict with any of these categories, and were not worried about eating GM food.
But almost all of the other women in the study – even the highly science-literate women who worked in health science – saw GM food as being in conflict with these core food values.
All of the women with science backgrounds used evidence to support their stance. The plant scientists said that lack of evidence of harm meant that GM food was safe for them to eat. However, the women in health sciences said that a lack of evidence of safety made them cautious.
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[O]ur work points to shared food values between those who eat, and those who do not eat, GM foods. Shared values are an important foundation for engagement….[The study can be found here.]
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Perceptions of genetically modified food are informed by more than just science
