Naoko Kato-Nitta|Tadahiko Maeda|Yoshiyuki Inagaki|Masashi Tachikawa
Expert and public perceptions of gene-edited crops: attitude changes in relation to scientific knowledge
The Institute of Statistical Mathematics|The Institute of Statistical Mathematics|The Institute of Statistical Mathematics|Nagoya University
abstract study empirically examined expert public attitudes toward applying gene editing agricultural crops compared attitudes toward genetic modification conventional breeding technologies regulations regarding application gene editing food debated around world new policy measures often face issues public acceptance consensus formation however reliable quantitative evidence public perception toward emerging breeding technologies scarce fill gap two webbased surveys conducted japan december 2016 february 2017 participants n 3197 categorised three groups based domainspecific scientific knowledge levels molecular biology experts experts fields lay public statistical analysis revealed group differences risk benefit value perceptions different technologies molecular biology experts higher benefit value perceptions well lower risk perceptions regarding new technologies gene editing genetic modification although lay public tended favourable attitudes toward gene editing toward genetic modification differences much smaller differences conventional breeding genetic modification experts fields showed characteristics similar experts molecular biology value perceptions showing characteristics similar lay public risk perceptions statistical analyses lay attitudes revealed influence science literacy attitudinal change toward crops grown new breeding technologies benefit perceptions risk value perceptions results promoted understanding distinguishing conditions deficit model explanation types valid conditions