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| GM foods and the misperception of risk perception |
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| Author(s): Gaskell G, Allum N, Wagner W, Kronberger N, Torgersen H, Hampel J, Bardes J |
| Source: RISK ANALYSIS Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Pages: 185-194 Published: FEB 2004 |
| Times Cited: 47 References: 35 |
| Abstract: Public opposition to genetically modified (GM) food and crops is widely interpreted as the result of the public's misperception of the risks. With scientific assessment pointing to no unique risks from GM crops and foods, a strategy of accurate risk communication from trusted sources has been advocated. This is based on the assumption that the benefits of GM crops and foods are self-evident. Informed by the interpretation of some qualitative interviews with lay people, we use data from the Eurobarometer survey on biotechnology to explore the hypothesis that it is not so much the perception of risks as the absence of benefits that is the basis of the widespread rejection of GM foods and crops by the European public. Some respondents perceive both risks and benefits, and may be trading off these attributes along the lines of a rational choice model. However, for others, one attribute-benefit-appears to dominate their judgments: the lexicographic heuristic. For these respondents, their perception of risk is of limited importance in the formation of attitudes toward GM food and crops. The implication is that the absence of perceived benefits from GM foods and crops calls into question the relevance of risk communication strategies for bringing about change in public opinion. |
| Document Type: Article |
| Language: English |
| Reprint Address: Gaskell, G (reprint author), London Sch Econ, Ctr Anal Risk & Regulat, London WC2A 2AE, England |
Addresses:
1. London Sch Econ, Ctr Anal Risk & Regulat, London WC2A 2AE, England
2. Univ Surrey, Guildford GU2 5XH, Surrey England
3. Johannes Kepler Univ, Linz, Austria
4. Austrian Acad Sci, A-1010 Vienna, Austria
5. Univ Stuttgart, D-7000 Stuttgart, Germany
6. IEP, Paris, France |
| Publisher: BLACKWELL PUBLISHERS, 350 MAIN STREET, STE 6, MALDEN, MA 02148 USA |
| Subject Category: Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications; Social Sciences, Mathematical Methods |
| IDS Number: 779PH |
| ISSN: 0272-4332 |
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