Embracing GMOs presents psychological challenges to average consumers

Think of a science denier, and you might picture someone arguing that climate change isn’t real or vaccines cause autism. But the biggest chasm between scientists and the public is actually over GMOs: 88 percent of U.S. scientists say genetically modified foods are safe to eat, and only 37 percent of Americans agree.

Why are we—and much of the rest of the world—resistant to GMOs? A team of biotech scientists and philosophers argue in a recent article in Trends in Plant Science that the answer lies in human psychology. Since few people take the time to dive into the details of every scientific study on the subject, we’re easily swayed by arguments that tap into what we already intuitively expect. Most of our thinking, the authors say, is based on intuition.

As the paper says:

The intuitive mind is not well equipped to address intricate questions, such as ‘what is biotechnology?’, ‘how does it work?’, or, most importantly, ‘is it dangerous?’ The ability to understand such issues and, hence, to have a subsequent objective and rational judgment requires an important effort and, even then, the mind is still liable to relapse into biased thinking. Lay people are often unable or are simply not interested in investing large amounts of time and energy to acquire a profound grasp of complex technologies.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: The Psychology Of Why So Many People Are Anti-GMO

 

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