Abstract
The importance of biotechnology for the global economy is growing, including developments in the field of genetically modified organisms (GMO), which have revolutionized the cultivation of several major food crops. Despite the many benefits from introducing genetic modifications to crops, the Polish society shows a strong distrust towards GMO-based food. The negative attitude of the society towards genetically modified (GM) food could be considered irrational. It is not supported by adequate knowledge and is based on fears, despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence of threats of GM products towards the environment, health, or human life. Details of these perceptions were revealed within Polish society from surveys of three groups of respondents: consumers, students, farmers. Data from the surveys have been compared with the answers to the same questions by five biotechnology experts from Polish academic institutions. A general observation from the analysis of the survey results and past studies quoted in the literature review is that the level of understanding and acceptance of GMO technologies is still low in Polish society, and, to a large extent, is based on stereotypes rather than on scientific knowledge. They show broad support for the general benefits of GMOs, which does not vary between the three groups of respondents surveyed, but noticeably differs with the experts’ views. GMOs have allies, but also opponents who have their own beliefs shaped largely by unreliable information disseminated through the Internet and social media. Providing more reliable targeted information on GMOs based on scientific evidence can have an important role in changing polarized attitudes towards GM food.
Highlights
Modified organisms (GMO), currently almost entirely crop plants, since their commercial introduction in 1996 [1] remain a recurrent issue within the forums of contemporary debate
Consumers are extremely concerned about genetically modified (GM) food safety, despite the existing regulations imposed on GM foods before allowing them onto the market, which are in accordance with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Codex framework for the safety assessment of GM food [3], as well as the lack of scientific evidence of risks to human health
The mean values of the scores for each benefit category at about 3.5 were reasonably supportive; as the standard deviations indicate, opinions on the potential benefits from Genetically modified organisms (GMO) crops varied widely in the sample
Summary
Modified organisms (GMO), currently almost entirely crop plants, since their commercial introduction in 1996 [1] remain a recurrent issue within the forums of contemporary debate. The stakeholders consisting of the scientific community, farmers, the processing industry, and consumers, augment technological concerns with anticipated social, economic, and political consequences. Such attention is largely focused on genetically modified (GM) foods, which are defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “foods derived from organisms whose genetic material Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally, e.g., through the introduction of a gene from a different organism” [2]. The legal aspects of the manufacturing, marketing, and control of genetically modified food and feed are presented in several other publications, e.g., [12,13,14,15]
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