The Differential Effects of Knowledge on Perceptions of Genetically Modified Food Safety

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel Hasell ◽  
Natalie Jomini Stroud
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Genetically Modified Food ◽  
The Public ◽  
Knowledge And Attitudes ◽  
Types Of Knowledge ◽  
Gm Foods ◽  
The Us ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Despite scientific consensus in the US that genetically modified (GM) foods are generally as safe as conventionally grown foods, the public remains skeptical about their safety. Extant research shows mixed results about the relationship between knowledge and attitudes when it comes to public opinion of GM foods in the US. This study uses data from the Pew American Trends Panel to examine the relationship between knowledge about GM foods and beliefs about their safety, in addition to what may be moderating these relationships. Results show that the relationship between knowledge and belief varies across different types of knowledge and that the effect of knowledge is moderated by perceptions of the immorality of genetic modification, rather than political or religious views.

Correcting Misperceptions About Genetically Modified Food on Social Media: Examining the Impact of Experts, Social Media Heuristics, and the Gateway Belief Model

2020 ◽  
pp. 107554702098137
Author(s):  
Leticia Bode ◽  
Emily K. Vraga ◽  
Melissa Tully
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Genetically Modified Food ◽  
The Public ◽  
Scientific Consensus ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Belief Model ◽  
The Impact

We experimentally test whether expert organizations on social media can correct misperceptions of the scientific consensus on the safety of genetically modified (GM) food for human consumption, as well as what role social media cues, in the form of “likes,” play in that process. We find expert organizations highlighting scientific consensus on GM food safety reduces consensus misperceptions among the public, leading to lower GM misperceptions and boosting related consumption behaviors in line with the gateway belief model. Expert organizations’ credibility may increase as a result of correction, but popularity cues do not seem to affect misperceptions or credibility.

Religion and the Public School Curriculum

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Feinberg
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Background Information ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Supreme Court ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Teaching Religion ◽  
Humanistic Study ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter provides background information on the relationship between religion and public schools and then describes the different kinds of religion courses currently offered in some public schools. While the US Supreme Court has banned compulsory devotional religious exercises, it has not banned the nondevotional teaching of religion. The different types of religion courses command different kinds of justifications, and the legal and educational merits of these justifications are presented. The author concludes by proposing a case for teaching religion that is both constitutionally and educationally acceptable. This case rests upon the importance of the development of autonomy to the liberal tradition, and it shows how the teaching of religion as a humanistic study can serve this ideal.

scholarly journals The controversies of genetically modified food

2021 ◽  
Vol 854 (1) ◽  
pp. 012009
Author(s):  
K Blagoevska ◽  
G Ilievska ◽  
D Jankuloski ◽  
B Stojanovska Dimzoska ◽  
R Crceva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Genetically Modified Food ◽  
Consumer Health ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
The Public ◽  
Gm Foods ◽  
The Impact ◽  
As Toxicity

Abstract The increasing use of genetically modified (GM) foods and feeds attracts the interest of media and public, causing great concern among consumers about the consequences of their consumption. The issues of concern are mainly focused on the impact on consumer health and the repercussions on the environment. The biggest fears are the possible negative consequences on human and animal health, which encompass allergic reactions, side effects such as toxicity, damage to individual organs, gene transfer and differences in nutritional value. Consumers are unsure and confused as to whether consuming GM foods is harmful to their health or not. According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted between October 2019 and March 2020, 48% of respondents said GM foods are harmful, 13% responded GM foods are safe, while 37% of respondents could not express their opinion due to lack of knowledge about it. Numerous studies have been undertaken to examine the effects that GM foods and feeds exert on humans and animals. The results differ in many ways that issue numerous questions. In this paper, we will try addressing questions that concern the public, as well as the activities and measures that science and competent institutions are taking to confront them.

Archaeologists and the Dead

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
International Context ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Experience Effect

This volume addresses the relationship between archaeologists and the dead, through the many dimensions of their relationships: in the field (through practical and legal issues), in the lab (through their analysis and interpretation), and in their written, visual and exhibitionary practice--disseminated to a variety of academic and public audiences. Written from a variety of perspectives, its authors address the experience, effect, ethical considerations, and cultural politics of working with mortuary archaeology. Whilst some papers reflect institutional or organizational approaches, others are more personal in their view: creating exciting and frank insights into contemporary issues that have hitherto often remained "unspoken" among the discipline. Reframing funerary archaeologists as "death-workers" of a kind, the contributors reflect on their own experience to provide both guidance and inspiration to future practitioners, arguing strongly that we have a central role to play in engaging the public with themes of mortality and commemoration, through the lens of the past. Spurred by the recent debates in the UK, papers from Scandinavia, Austria, Italy, the US, and the mid-Atlantic, frame these issues within a much wider international context that highlights the importance of cultural and historical context in which this work takes place.

scholarly journals Social Acceptance for Commercialization of Genetically Modified Food Animals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziyao Fan ◽  
Yulian Mu ◽  
Tad Sonstegard ◽  
Xiaomei Zhai ◽  
Kui Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Variation ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Genetically Modified Food ◽  
The Public ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Social License ◽  
Food Animals ◽  
Natural Mutation ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Genetically modified food animals (GMFAs) are needed to address early the cumulative effects of livestock production on the environment and to accommodate future food demands. In 2020 China and the U.S., the world's two largest economies, embarked on regulatory reforms to boost the commercialization of such animals. However, gaining social acceptance of GMFAs for commercialization remains a global challenge. We propose a framework that focuses on social license for commercialization of GMFAs by defining four classes of improvement using precision genetics: 1) animals equivalent to natural variation to obtain the improved effect of cross-breeding (ENV); 2) animals with an inactivated gene that could occur via natural mutation (ENC-); 3) animals harboring a natural genetic sequence isolated from another species (ENC+); and 4) animals with synthetic sequences encoding novel genes (BNE). Our approach can guide regulators and the public to support orderly commercialization of genetically modified food animals.

Debunking Misinformation About Genetically Modified Food Safety on Social Media: Can Heuristic Cues Mitigate Biased Assimilation?

2021 ◽  
pp. 107554702110220
Author(s):  
Yuan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Genetically Modified Food ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Social Endorsement ◽  
Biased Assimilation ◽  
Source Cues

Focusing on debunking misinformation about genetically modified (GM) food safety in a social media context, this study examines whether source cues and social endorsement cues interact with individuals’ preexisting beliefs about GM food safety in influencing misinformation correction effectiveness. Using an experimental design, this study finds that providing corrective messages can effectively counteract the influence of misinformation, especially when the message is from an expert source and receives high social endorsements. Participants evaluate misinformation and corrective messages in a biased way that confirms their preexisting beliefs about GM food safety. However, their initial misperceptions can be reduced when receiving corrective messages.

scholarly journals Public Perception on Labeling Genetically Modified (GM) Foods in Ghana: Implications for Food Policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 25-37
Author(s):  
Richard Ampadu-Ameyaw ◽  
Johnny Owusu-Arthur ◽  
Kwame Dei Asamoah-Okyere
Keyword(s):  
Public Perception ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Food Ingredients ◽  
The Public ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Gm Foods ◽  
Choice Variable

Labeling of genetically modified (GM) food and other food ingredients from GM source has become an important national policy issues receiving serious attention not only in Ghana but globally.   This paper focused on public perceptions of labeling of GM foods in Ghana as a way of garnering a view of the public understanding of the technology that has become so much controversial for which several millions of public sector money is spent on education in the last few years. The survey which elapsed over a period of three months, shows results that indicate a dearth of knowledge on the technology and yet a high demand for labelling of the products, even though not many people read the labels on food products. This leads to the question as to ‘who is doing the listening’. The authors conclude that the limited knowledge and technology essentials among others explain why the public seems to reject the technology and call for labelling of the products in spite of the fact that labelling is nothing but a choice variable, which has nothing to do with safety measure. Modifying the present attitude of the opponents of the technology and the demanders of labelling ignoring the cost that may be involved require extensive education and awareness creations throughout the country using tailor made communication forms to address various different groups.

scholarly journals Viola Bernard and the case study of race in post-war America

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Damousi
Keyword(s):  
Race Relations ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Us History ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Us ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Relationship

It is in the US that the case study genre is reinvented within a politicised psychiatric-psychoanalytical framework in the work of Viola Bernard. Bernard’s writings pose enduring questions about the relationship between activism and US psychiatry, politics and race relations. This chapter traces Bernard’s efforts to develop a new, authoritative and politically effective narrative through her case notes and advocacy about black subjects. This involved mobilising the case study genre in the public domain at large, for political as well as medical purposes, in the context of a turbulent period in US history.

scholarly journals The importance of knowledge for wellbeing of society in the contemporary world

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1136-1159
Author(s):  
Dusan Markovic ◽  
Mrdjan Mladjan
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Types Of Knowledge ◽  
National Competitiveness ◽  
Long Run ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Physical Resources ◽  
Potential Problems ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Relationship

Following the recent wave of globalization, the possession of different types of knowledge became even more important for economic development than the possession of physical resources. The ability of a society to adopt existing and create new knowledge thus gained fundamental importance for its wellbeing. In this paper, we identify important aspects of the relationship between education, creation of knowledge, economic growth, as well as both material and immate?rial wellbeing of a society. We describe potential problems that prevent societies from maximizing the benefit from the effort its members invest in acquiring knowledge. The problems of failure of the national markets for education as well as the global migrations which lead to drain of knowledge towards economically highly developed countries are especially analyzed. In the long run, they lead to a decline in both national competitiveness and different aspects of the immate?rial wellbeing. As the basis for solving these problems we propose a combination of economic theory and the concept of solidarity between more and less devel?oped countries, individuals and societies of their origin, respecting the free will of individuals.

scholarly journals Toward a Country-Based Prediction Model of COVID-19 Infections and Deaths Between Disease Apex and End: Evidence From Countries With Contained Numbers of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianshu Gu ◽  
Lishi Wang ◽  
Ning Xie ◽  
Xia Meng ◽  
Zhijun Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Data ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Actual Number ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Us ◽  
Multiple Regression Models ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Using Data ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Relationship

The complexity of COVID-19 and variations in control measures and containment efforts in different countries have caused difficulties in the prediction and modeling of the COVID-19 pandemic. We attempted to predict the scale of the latter half of the pandemic based on real data using the ratio between the early and latter halves from countries where the pandemic is largely over. We collected daily pandemic data from China, South Korea, and Switzerland and subtracted the ratio of pandemic days before and after the disease apex day of COVID-19. We obtained the ratio of pandemic data and created multiple regression models for the relationship between before and after the apex day. We then tested our models using data from the first wave of the disease from 14 countries in Europe and the US. We then tested the models using data from these countries from the entire pandemic up to March 30, 2021. Results indicate that the actual number of cases from these countries during the first wave mostly fall in the predicted ranges of liniar regression, excepting Spain and Russia. Similarly, the actual deaths in these countries mostly fall into the range of predicted data. Using the accumulated data up to the day of apex and total accumulated data up to March 30, 2021, the data of case numbers in these countries are falling into the range of predicted data, except for data from Brazil. The actual number of deaths in all the countries are at or below the predicted data. In conclusion, a linear regression model built with real data from countries or regions from early pandemics can predict pandemic scales of the countries where the pandemics occur late. Such a prediction with a high degree of accuracy provides valuable information for governments and the public.

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