Factors determining the public understanding of GM technologies

GM technologies challenge our understanding of what it means to be human, and of what role we play in the natural world. These technologies arise out of particular contexts. Our experiences and understanding of events in our own lives and of events observed and reported in other places around the world, inform our understanding, giving rise to fears about the risk of genetic modification. What could their impact be in the long-term? What are the possible problems? What information about them can be trusted? What choice do I have? Who benefits and who would bear the brunt of any problems? This article presents some of the findings of social scientists about the many interrelated factors that underlie the public’s response to GM technologies. The challenges these technologies present can contribute to increased feelings of uncertainty because the world as we know it is changing, alienation because of our lack of control over the development and use of many GM technologies, and ambivalence as we appreciate their benefits but worry about their possible negative impacts. Overall our attitudes to GM technologies reflect the issues associated with living in the contemporary world.