Two Purdue researchers say Americans are far more skeptical of genetically engineered crops and livestock than a GMO solution to a health risk, such as the mosquito-spread Zika virus. A survey of 964 people found that 78 percent would support release of GMO mosquitoes to stop Zika while 44 percent would accept GMO livestock, 49 percent would accept GMO crops and 48 percent would accept GMO produce.
Economists Nicole Widmar and Wallace Tyner said attitudes toward GMOs varied with public awareness of the issues. Zika was regarded as a health threat along with proposals to thwart the spread of the virus, such as mosquitoes genetically engineered to prevent the species from multiplying. Americans are less informed about GMO crops, which have been grown since 1996 and represent the bulk of corn, soybean and sugar beet output.
“The perception of choice matters,” Widmar said in a Purdue release. “If you need it to stay healthy, you would probably use it. But if you feel like you were given GMOs and told about it later, that might upset you.” Tyner said that in the future, developers of GMO foods may want to stress the health and environmental benefits of their products, such as less use of pesticides, rather than higher crop revenue. “If you look back, things might have gone differently if we had the first releases in the medical field rather than the food field.”