PUBLIC OPINION OF AGBIOTECH IN THE US AND UK: A CONTENT ANALYSIS APPROACH

In this paper we use content analysis to show trend in public opinion of agrobiotechnology in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). We test for the degree of positive and negative content in mass media reporting over the period 1995-1998. Specifically, we test whether there are qualitative and quantitative differences between three national daily newspapers - the Daily Telegraph (UK), USA Today (US), and the Washington Post (US) - based on reporting of agrobiotechnology. Results indicate that content has become more negative in the UK over the time period while reporting the US has not significantly changed. Results indicate that both the BSE and Pusztai crises had an impact on the proportion of negative reporting in the Daily Telegraph.content analysis, mass media reporting, agricultural biotechnology, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

EVALUATING ALTERNATIVE FARMING SYSTEMS: A FUZZY MADM APPROACH

This paper develops a decision support method that integrates measures of achievement in the economic, environmental, and social aspects of farming. The decision support method combines multiple attribute decision making (MADM) with fuzzy logic. The fuzzy MADM model fully ranks decision alternatives relative to the preferences of decision makers and overcomes several problems inherent in other MADM approaches. It is concluded that fuzzy MADM can improve decision making on the farm.fuzzy logic, fuzzy sets, multiple attribute decision making, MADM, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Trust in Biotechnology Risk Managers: Insights from the United Kingdom, 1996-2002

The mid to late 1990s saw a series of negative media events in the United Kingdom (UK) related to biotechnology. According to the trust asymmetry hypothesis, such events ought to cause public trust in risk managers of biotechnology to fall quickly but rise slowly. We present evidence from the Eurobarometer surveys that from 1996 to 1999 public trust in the UK declined, but it increased sharply between 1999 and 2002. We seek to explain this apparent contradiction to the asymmetry hypothesis. We use canonical discriminant analysis of public trust to show that whether people trust or distrust risk managers of biotechnology depends significantly on the amount of knowledge people have about science. We speculate that knowledge of science moderates the trust asymmetry effect.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Trust in Biotechnology Risk Managers: Insights from the United Kingdom, 1996-2002

During the late 1990s a series of negative events occurred in the United Kingdom (UK) related to biotechnology. These events signaled potential risks associated with biotech foods and crops and were highly reported. According to the trust asymmetry hypothesis, such events ought to cause public trust in risk managers of biotechnology to decline rapidly and rebound more slowly. We find, based on data taken from the Eurobarometer surveys conducted in 1996, 1999 and 2002, that public trust in risk managers did decline from 1996 to 1999. However, the level of trust rebounded sharply between 1999 and 2002. Canonical discriminant analysis of public trust is used to reveal possible explanatory factors in this response. We find that whether people trust or distrust risk managers depends significantly on the amount of objective knowledge they have. We argue that knowledge of science might moderate the trust asymmetry effect.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Risk and Uncertainty,

A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF SOURCE-MESSAGE HETEROGENEITY IN MASS MEDIA COVERAGE OF AGROBIOTECHNOLOGY

In this paper, we use content analysis to examine the use of sources by US and UK newspaper reporters from 1990 to 1999. Positive (benefit) or negative (risk) messages are correlated with the "source" type in order to determine the degree of source-message heterogeneity in media reporting of agrobiotechnology.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Evaluating Consumer Response to GM Foods: Some Methodological Considerations

In 1998 the European Union placed a moratorium on the planting of transgenic crops within its borders. The resulting ban on biotech crops has led to the current trans-Atlantic trade dispute between the United States and the EU. At the heart of this dispute is the issue of consumer acceptance. The EU’s current position is predicated on perceived public concerns about biotech foods which found a voice in numerous opinion polls conducted during the late 1990s (e.g., European Commission, 1997, 2000). Such concerns have also been amplified by intense media coverage and resulting political activism. Given the pivotal role that consumer opinion has played in recent EU policy, an understanding of how consumers value biotech foods is critical to informed policymaking. To date three main approaches have been used to gauge how consumers might respond to genetically modified (GM) foods if they were labeled as such. Opinion or attitudinal surveys are one approach. Two other approaches that are also being used are choice experiments and experimental (auction) market methods. This paper provides a brief overview of each approach, their predictions regarding consumer willingness to pay(WTP) for biotech foods, and their potential advantages and pitfalls in predicting actual consumer behavior in the market place.Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

MARKETING OF BIOTECH FUNCTIONAL FOODS IN THE US

To date, most research in Europe and the United States has focused on eliciting consumer WTP for biotech foods without directly addressing strategies for marketing them. We use means-end theory to link consumers' knowledge about functional attributes, to their knowledge about consequences and core values, in order to gain insights into valued attributes for developing potential marketing strategies.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing,

Mass media framing of biotechnology news

In fast-changing scientific fields like biotechnology, new information and discoveries should influence the balance of risks and rewards and their associated media coverage. This study investigates how reporters interpret and report such information and, in turn, whether they frame the public debate about biotechnology. Mass media coverage of medical and agricultural biotechnology is compared over a 12-year period and in two different countries: the United States and the United Kingdom. We examine whether media have consistently chosen to emphasize the potential risks over the benefits of these applications, or vice versa, and what information might drive any relevant changes in such frames. We find that the two sets of technologies have been framed differently—more positive for medical applications, more negative for agricultural biotechnology. This result holds over time and across different geographic locations. We also find that international events influence media coverage but have been locally framed. This local newsworthiness extends to both medical and agricultural applications. We conclude that such coverage could have led to differences in public perception of the two sets of technology: more negative (or ambivalent) for agricultural, positive for medical applications. Our findings suggest that understanding news frames, and the events that drive them, provides some insight into the long-term formation of public opinion as influenced by news coverage

Basic science232. Certolizumab pegol prevents pro-inflammatory alterations in endothelial cell function

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a major comorbidity of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a leading cause of death. Chronic systemic inflammation involving tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF) could contribute to endothelial activation and atherogenesis. A number of anti-TNF therapies are in current use for the treatment of RA, including certolizumab pegol (CZP), (Cimzia ®; UCB, Belgium). Anti-TNF therapy has been associated with reduced clinical cardiovascular disease risk and ameliorated vascular function in RA patients. However, the specific effects of TNF inhibitors on endothelial cell function are largely unknown. Our aim was to investigate the mechanisms underpinning CZP effects on TNF-activated human endothelial cells. Methods: Human aortic endothelial cells (HAoECs) were cultured in vitro and exposed to a) TNF alone, b) TNF plus CZP, or c) neither agent. Microarray analysis was used to examine the transcriptional profile of cells treated for 6 hrs and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysed gene expression at 1, 3, 6 and 24 hrs. NF-κB localization and IκB degradation were investigated using immunocytochemistry, high content analysis and western blotting. Flow cytometry was conducted to detect microparticle release from HAoECs. Results: Transcriptional profiling revealed that while TNF alone had strong effects on endothelial gene expression, TNF and CZP in combination produced a global gene expression pattern similar to untreated control. The two most highly up-regulated genes in response to TNF treatment were adhesion molecules E-selectin and VCAM-1 (q 0.2 compared to control; p > 0.05 compared to TNF alone). The NF-κB pathway was confirmed as a downstream target of TNF-induced HAoEC activation, via nuclear translocation of NF-κB and degradation of IκB, effects which were abolished by treatment with CZP. In addition, flow cytometry detected an increased production of endothelial microparticles in TNF-activated HAoECs, which was prevented by treatment with CZP. Conclusions: We have found at a cellular level that a clinically available TNF inhibitor, CZP reduces the expression of adhesion molecule expression, and prevents TNF-induced activation of the NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, CZP prevents the production of microparticles by activated endothelial cells. This could be central to the prevention of inflammatory environments underlying these conditions and measurement of microparticles has potential as a novel prognostic marker for future cardiovascular events in this patient group. Disclosure statement: Y.A. received a research grant from UCB. I.B. received a research grant from UCB. S.H. received a research grant from UCB. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Communicating About Agrobiotechnology

"Editor's Introduction"Agricultural biotechnology is a fundamental technology platform that is promising to transform the world food system and bring about an abundance of healthier foods and improve the environment. Yet consumers in some parts of the world have not been as welcoming of the technology as others. Indeed, in Europe and elsewhere consumer opposition grew to such levels as to affect European Union regulation and spark a worldwide debate about the food and environmental safety of genetically modified (GM) crops. And although the debate about GM crops and foods has become more muted in recent months, agrobiotechnology is still making it onto the front page.Includes bibliographical reference