Biotech Updates

Study: Trends and Coverage of GM Food-related Issues

October 21, 2011

Previous studies have shown that the fear of a new technology is often driven by lack of information or education about the subject. Modern biotechnology is one of those technologies feared about by the public. To analyze the trends and coverage of genetically modified food (GMF) related issues, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia scientist Latifah Amin and colleagues conducted a study. They retrieved 60 GMF-related articles from Science Direct released from 2005 to 2010.

Results showed that most articles (22 out of 60 articles) were under the Technical/Progress theme followed by Attitude theme (13 articles). Only 1 article was found to be under the Social Risks and/or Benefits theme, indicating that only a few were discussing the risk and benefits of GMF.

Read the full length research paper at http://www.academicjournals.org/ajb/PDF/pdf2011/30SepConf/Latifah%20et%20al5.pdf.