Consumers Surveys on GM Crops Could be Misleading

Nilsy Desaint and Mariana Varbanova of EuropaBio reviewed and evaluated several surveys on public perceptions on biotech crops. The review showed that such consumer surveys could be a blunt instrument in finding the actual perceptions of consumers because even if the questions were well-crafted and professionally delivered, some respondents answered with lack of knowledge and thus led to ambiguous responses. Even the respondents of the surveys admitted that they lack information about biotechnology and the food production process. Respondents also tend to answer hypothetical questions as cautious citizens instead of being consumers. Thus, the reviewers recommend use of focus group discussions with experts' facilitation to gauge the actual perceptions on biotech crops.

Read the abstract at https://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/gmcrops/article/26776/.