Community attitudes towards risk and new technologies

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• Community attitudes towards risk and new
  technologies
• Genetic manipulation
• or
• Information manipulation?
• by Craig Cormick
• Manager of
• Public Awareness
• Biotechnology Australia

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• 1. Does the media accurately portray public
  attitudes?
• 2. Does the media influence public attitudes or
  concerns?
• 3. Are public concerns an influencer of behaviour?

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The ProblemBiotechnology as a science has
largely been developed in isolation from
societys input.And the social debate on
biotechnology has largely been held in isolation
of scientific input.
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• Biotechnology Australia Public Awareness Goals
• to create an environment where members of the
  public are able to make informed decisions on the
  applications, uses and future of biotechnology,
  through the provision of balanced factual
  information, explaining the benefits and risks of
  the technology.

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The Media
Interest Groups
Public Attitudes
The Public
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WHAT DO WE THINK THE PUBLIC REALLY THINK?
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Perceived Risk
Perceptions of Public Perceptions of GM Foods
Public Perceptions of GM Foods
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Perceived Risk
High Industrialisation Concerns
Food Elites 8
Naturalists 16
Fearful Shoppers 28
High Fear of Contamination
Low Fear of Contamimation
The Unconcerned 13
Nutrition Seekers 20
Date Code Diligent 13
Low Industrialisation Concerns
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• Not having enough information makes it scary,
  what could happen?
• Everything we are told and everything we decide
  upon is the reciprocation of what we are told in
  the media.
• I think until more information is filtered down
  in society to understand the positive benefits
  and also the negative benefits only then can you
  make your own accurate judgement on it.

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Genetically Modified Myths
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The MEDIA
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Media Coverage
Oh My God! GM Shock Horror Story! CANBERRA GM
shock horror and panic! GM shock horror and
panic! GM shock horror and panic! GM shock horror
and panic! GM shock horror and panic! GM shock
horror and panic! GM shock horror and panic! GM
shock horror and panic! GM shock horror and
panic! GM shock horror and panic! GM shock horror
and panic! GM shock horror and panic! GM shock
horror and panic! GM shock horror and panic! GM
shock horror and panic! GM shock horror and
panic! GM shock horror and panic! GM shock horror
and panic! GM shock horror and panic! GM shock
horror and panic!
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• The Media is only a Channel

• Source

• The Message

• The Media

• Audience

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• MEDIA

• Mass Media

• - Newspapers
• - TV
• - Radio
• - Magazines

• New Media

• - Internet
• - postcards

• Direct Media

• - member newsletters
• - email lists

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Media
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Is Media coverage of gm foods positive or
negative? (May 2000)
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ACTUAL CONCERNSRISK
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Most important Biotechnology Issues

• I feel like I should know more.
• Misunderstanding
• Most Australian food is already GM
• Foot N Mouth
• UnnaturalWe should not be playing God
• Beyond legislative control
• Fear of unknown long-term consequences
• Dissatisfaction with extreme biased media
  reporting
• The impending cloning of humans

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Risk
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Perceived Risk
Nuclear Power
Unknown
DDT
Terrorism
Nuclear Weapons
War
Known
Low Risk
High Risk
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Perceived Risk
Threat to future generations
Threat of global catastrophe
Whose risk? who benefits?
Low Risk
High Risk
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Risk Assessment
RISK
BENEFIT
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Using Genetic Material in Plants
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Modifying genetic materials in animals with
either plant or other animal genetic material
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(No Transcript)
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Modifying genetic material in human cells

• Survey showed a decline in acceptability (44
  2001 and 511999) and benefits (55 2001 and 65
  1999).

MOTIVATION OUTCOME
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Modification of genetic material in plant cells
using animal genetic material

• Survey data suggest attitudes have declined
  significantly since 1999 (31 2001 and 51
  1999).

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Using human genes in medicines vaccines

• Attitudes have improved since 1999.

OUTCOME
HEALTH BENEFITS EASILY IDENTIFIED
NEED TO DEVELOP NEW MEDICINES
ETHICAL IMPROVE/SAVE HUMAN LFE
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Use of gene technology in medicine
INCREASED AWARENESS
CLONING
RAPID UNCONTROLLED CHANGE
IRRESPONSIBLE MEDIA REPORTING
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Control of biotechnology
A REOCCURING THEME AT ALL PHASES
TOO RAPID TO CONTROL
MULTINATIONALS TOO POWERFUL TO CONTROL
NO CONTROL OVER PROCESS MOTIVATION OR OUTCOMES

• Nothing is being done to manage this, we would
  know about it if they were doing anything.

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ADOPTION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES?
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Innovation Curve
Luddites Late Majority Cautious Innovators
Early Adopters Adopters Innovators
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1. Information 2. Consultation 3. Regulation 4.
Consumer choice 5. Consumer benefit

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1. Lack of clear information and too much
misinformation 2. Low awareness and understanding
of regulation 3. No perception of wide
consultation 4. Lack of consumer choice 5. Lack
of consumer benefit
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WHAT DO THE PUBLIC REALLY THINK?
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Overall concern about the use of Gene Technology
Most people are concerned
2001 Q16. Thinking overall about the benefits
and risks of gene technology, how do you rate
your overall concern about the use of gene
technology in society today? Would you say...
Base All respondents (n1001)
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Overall Concern By Gender
2001 Q16. Thinking overall about the benefits
and risks of gene technology, how do you rate
your overall concern about the use of gene
technology in society today? Would you say...
Base All respondents (n1001)
Significant difference at 95 confidence
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Science and Technology Concerns
Overall of the five issues rated, pollution, the
green house effect and nuclear waste were
considered more important concerns than GM foods
and cloning. Compared to these issues, GM foods
and cloning appear to be the least significant of
the 5 problems with 30 and 41 of respondents
respectively nominating them as the least
important.

Q1. 2001 Now thinking about concerns with science
and technology, Im going to read you a list of
five issues facing society today and I want to to
rank them in order of the most important
concern to the least important. These issues
are... Base All respondents (n1001)