ABSTRACT
The burgeoning fields of biotechnology and genomic science have seen rapid advances in recent years with a host of new applications in medicine, agriculture, and related fields. Advocates and scientific experts point to the revolutionary potential of these technologies to improve human health, the environment, and the overall quality of life. This potential for radical change has, however, also raised public concerns. Indeed, opinion surveys in advanced industrial democracies consistently reveal sceptical publics that are uncertain about the technologies’ long-term safety, uneasy about the ethical implications, and doubtful of the purported benefits – particularly as all of these relate to genetic modification. Public support from both consumers and democratic citizens is critical to the future viability and development of new biotechnologies.
