title: Social learning theory and public perception of GMOs: What Blancke et al. (2015) and other plant biotechnologists are missing.
abstract: There exists a wide chasm between public opinion and scientific evidence on the safety of genetically engineered food, herein referred to as GMOs. Plant biotechnologists give credit to a small community of activists negatively influencing individual minds on this issue, but this approach neglects other social contexts in which such cognition operates. The author argues here that current public opinion on GMOs is a manifestation of the constant interaction between environmental, behavioral, and cognitive influences on this issue. In order to sway public opinion and be consistent with social learning theory, biotechnology advocates and plant scientists will need to move beyond their recognized expertise in order to rework the argument for GMOs in the modern-day food supply, one that wholly embraces an individual-level framing of the debate, tantamount to other successful professional trends like patient-centered medicine. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Environmental Research, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Keith
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3866-9781
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fluegge
mesh_terms: D001901:Botany / Q000639:trends; D003254:Consumer Advocacy / Q000523:psychology; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D000069599:Crop Production / Q000639:trends; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology; D059022:Food Safety; D005523:Food Supply; D030841:Food, Genetically Modified / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000639:trends; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011639:Public Opinion; D012932:Social Facilitation; D000067570:Social Learning; D066269:Social Theory; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: food safety; genetic engineering; policy; social learning theory