ISSUES IN AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY - IDENTIFYING AND COMPARING BIOTECHNOLOGY ISSUES FROM PUBLIC-OPINION SURVEYS, THE POPULAR PRESS AND TECHNICAL REGULATORY SOURCES/

The formation of public perceptions of science is a very complex and p roblematic process, but a major factor is the information that is avai lable and presented most frequently to the public. Issues of public co ncern over agricultural and environmental biotechnology were identifie d from opinion surveys, the popular press and technical/regulatory sou rces. A frequency index based on content analysis was used to rank iss ues within categories of genetically engineered foods, plants, animals and microorganisms; and the social/legal, risk assessment/regulation, science education and international aspects. These issues were compar ed to those similarly identified from scientific/regulatory sources. R esults revealed that the scientific/regulatory communities have dealt primarily with one subset of issues (research oriented), while the pub lic is largely concerned with a different subset (issues of ethics, sa fety and value). This paper describes each issue in detail, and the im plications of the two subsets of issues are briefly discussed.