ABSTRACT
In considering public perceptions of biotechnology it is important to assert that the intentions and motivations of the advocates for biotechnology are honest and well meaning. The material that is available on public perceptions of biotechnology consists of population surveys in North America and Europe, accounts from the popular press, and case studies of salient events. The literature on impact assessment, risk and cost/benefit analysis predates biotechnology as an identifiable target but it is this literature that must be accessed in order to consider and understand public perceptions of biotechnology. The business of biotechnology, insofar as it must be aware of public perceptions, is recognizing a phenomenon constructed in individual minds from a mixture of beliefs and experiences. A pressing issue with respect to public perceptions, especially in the United States, concerns agricultural biotechnology. This chapter provides some tools for thinking about public perceptions of biotechnology.
