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Harvest Public Media is a reporting collaboration focused on issues of food, fuel and field. Based at KCUR in Kansas City, Missouri, Harvest covers agriculture-related topics through a network of reporters and partner stations throughout the Midwest.

Study: People Opposed To GMOs Don’t Know As Much About Science As They Think

These squash on sale at an Illinois grocery store have been genetically modified to resist a specific virus.
Joanthan Ahl
/
Harvest Public Media
These squash on sale at an Illinois grocery store have been genetically modified to resist a specific virus.

People who most intensely oppose genetically modified food think they know a lot about food science, but actually know the least, according to a peer-reviewed paper published in January in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.

GMOs are widely considered safe by scientists, but opponents have said they want more science on the potential harm so that subjective arguments aren’t part of the equation.

The survey, conducted by four universities, asked 2,000 people in Europe and the United States how much they knew about genetically modified food, what their opinion was and how intense it was.

Then it went on to ask a series of true or false questions about science, ranging from basic issues like whether the core of the earth is hot or cold to questions on genetics, like “Does a non-genetically modified tomato have genes?”

The results showed the more strongly people reported being opposed to GMOs, the lower their test score.

“A lot of people are upset by genetically modified food”, said Sydney Scott, a marketing professor at Washington University in St. Louis, one of the schools that ran the study.

“We have to get people to recognize gaps in their knowledge before we try to teach them new things and have a meaningful discussion,” she added.

Opponents of genetically modified food are not putting much stock in the study.

“The real flawed science is that the Food and Drug Administration is not rigorously testing genetically modified food,” said Alexis Baden-Mayer, political director for the anti-GMO Organic Consumers Association.

She said her organization wants to see a “thorough scientific review of genetically modified food using up-to-date testing practices.

Scott said Baden-Mayer has a point and reinforces that the study was of consumer knowledge and behaviors, not the science of GMOs. But, she said, consumers often are less likely to learn the facts when it’s something they feel very passionate about, “especially if they feel like it's challenging their moral values.”

“So people might feel extremely about genetically modified food because it’s very unnatural in a way they find almost morally upsetting.”

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Toronto and the University of Pennsylvania also participated in the study, which was primarily paid for by grants from the National Science Foundation.

They plan to follow up with more studies on how the findings may play into other controversial science issues including vaccinations, nuclear power and homeopathic medicine.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story included a photo of apples that were incorrectly labled as genetically modified.

Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @JonathanAhl

Copyright 2019 Harvest Public Media

Jonathan Ahl joined Iowa Public Radio as News Director in July 2008. He leads the news and talk show teams in field reporting, feature reporting, audio documentaries, and talk show content. With more than 17 years in public media, Jonathan is a nationally award-winning reporter that has worked at public radio stations in Macomb, Springfield and Peoria, IL. He served WCBU-FM in Peoria as news director before coming to Iowa. He also served as a part-time instructor at Bradley University teaching journalism and writing courses. Jonathan is currently serving a second term as president of PRNDI ââ
Jonathan Ahl
Jonathan Ahl reports from Missouri for Harvest Public Media. He also is the Rolla Reporter for St. Louis Public Radio. Before coming to St. Louis Public Radio in November of 2018, Jonathan was the General Manager for Tri States Public Radio in Macomb, Illinois. He previously was the News Director at Iowa Public Radio and before that at WCBU in Peoria, Illinois. Jonathan has also held reporting positions in central Illinois for public radio stations. Jonathan is originally from the Chicago area. He has a B.A. in Music Theory and Composition from Western Illinois University and an M.A. in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield. He is an avid long distance runner, semi-professional saxophonist and die-hard Chicago Cubs fan.