KNOWLEDGE LEVELS AND ATTITUDES OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ABOUT GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS AND FOODS: BITLIS EREN UNIVERSITY EXAMPLE

Perceptions and Attitudes of University Students of Five Mexican Public Institutions on the Labeling of Products Made with Genetically Modified Organisms

International Journal of Business and Management ◽

10.5539/ijbm.v15n5p46 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (5) ◽

pp. 46

Author(s):

Emeterio Franco-Perez ◽

Osval Antonio Montesinos-Lopez ◽

J Jesus Garcia Martinez ◽

Alberto Pastrana Palma ◽

Josafhat Salinas-Ruiz ◽

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Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Genetically Modified Organisms ◽

Genetically Modified ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Total Sample ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Central Mexico ◽

Perceptions And Attitudes ◽

Mexican Society ◽

Mexican Government

Introduction: To know the perceptions and attitudes about the labeling of products made with genetically modified organisms (GMO), of students from five universities in central Mexico, in the following areas of knowledge: natural sciences, health sciences, chemical sciences, economic and administrative sciences and biological and agricultural sciences. Methodological design and approach: In the study, 2923 students answered a questionnaire with Likert scale of five questions. It is important to mention that the original questionnaire has 64 variables and 11 factors to measure the perceptions, attitudes, benefits and risks on the production and consumption of GMO. Results: Of the total sample 16.60% always read the labels, 85.70% agree that the label should show the characteristics of the product. 82.90% said that when making promotions should be reported on the label the characteristics of the product and finally 82.90% answered that the Mexican government should legislate a legal framework to regulate the mandatory labeling of products made with GMOs. Discussion or Conclusion. The sample only cover 5 Mexican universities. The relevant contribution of this research provides an empirical knowledge about the perceptions and attitudes regarding the labeling of products with GMOs content from a sample of the population of five public universities in central Mexico. This study is an important contribution for Mexican society, because there is no legal framework to regulate the labeling of products with GMO content and that it is essential to strengthen the training of university students with scientific information in this field. The labeling of products made with GMOs is generating relevant controversies worldwide, so it is important to know and spread the perceptions and attitudes of the sample considered in this study.

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Knowledge about and Attitudes to GMOs among Students from Various Specializations

Outlook on Agriculture ◽

10.5367/oa.2011.0064 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 337-342 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Agnieszka Wnuk ◽

Marcin Kozak

Keyword(s):

Mass Media ◽

University Students ◽

Environmental Protection ◽

Questionnaire Survey ◽

Genetically Modified Organisms ◽

Agricultural Biotechnology ◽

Genetically Modified ◽

Scientific Disciplines ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Mass Media

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a hot topic for debate among researchers from a wide range of scientific disciplines – in particular, agriculture, biotechnology and environmental protection. The debate, however, is not limited to science. GMOs are also discussed in the mass media, giving rise to extreme emotions, both positive and negative. Without entering the argument between the supporters and opponents of GMOs, this paper addresses the following questions. How do future experts in agriculture, biotechnology and environmental protection approach the topic of GMOs? Do they have similar or dramatically different views on this subject? What do they know about GMOs? Is their knowledge related to their attitudes? University students specializing in those three disciplines can be considered as future experts in the field, and so a questionnaire survey was conducted among them to answer the above questions. The results show that agricultural, biotechnology and environmental protection students differ in their attitudes to and knowledge about GMOs.

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