Survey Says Peruvians Have Low Knowledge of Biotech

The majority of Peruvians in Metropolitan Lima had never heard of biotechnology  or transgenic food. This was a major finding of a survey conducted by the Instituto Nacional de Investigacion Agraria  (INIA) in Peru to determine the general perceptions of transgenic foods in the country. Among those who have heard about it identified better nutrition as a main benefit.

Dr. Miguel Barandiaran of INIA in a presentation during the  international workshop on Public Perception of Agricultural Biotechnology in Lima, Peru, added that available information on biotechnology tended to be negative, hence resulting in uncertainty among respondents. Those who heard about the two terms identified television, newspapers, and radio as major sources of information. However, people did not show much interest in issues that were not current news.

The workshop was organized by the High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (APEC) and was atttended by APEC country member representatives. For more information about the survey contact Dr. Barandiaran at mbarandiaran@inia.gob.pe.