21 December, 2010

Since 1991, a Eurobarometer team has conducted a public survey to find out about the opinions and perceptions of Europeans about biotechnology every 2 – 4 years. The most recent Eurobarometer was conducted in January and February 2010 and was published in November. A representative sample of the total EU-27 population at the age of 15 years or older (almost 407 million people) was asked a wide range of questions about technologies in general, several applications of biotechnology and governance issues. For the purpose of this report LIS Consult focused on the application of biotechnology in food and analysed the data for the total EU-27 sample. In some cases a sample of the EU member states representing the major countries and showing the range from low to high ratings was analysed . Also data from previous Eurobarometers were used to analyse trends in public opinion about GM food. The relationship between level of support to public perceptions on risks, benefits, naturalness and fairness was investigated and  the impact of specific applications and  the use of different technologies using genetic material from other species or from the same species was analysed. Previous analysis of public surveys about biotechnology have highlighted the importance of public trust in the regulatory process, public authorities and other professionals responsible for biotechnology, such as industry and environmental organisations. Therefore, the report also includes an analysis of the impact of trust on public support of GM food.

A full version of the report can be downloaded here (in PDF format, 255 kB)