Shaw Alison
Division of Primary Health Care, University of Bristol, UK.
Public Underst Sci. 2002 Jul;11(3):273-91. doi: 10.1088/0963-6625/11/3/305.
This paper reports on one aspect of qualitative research on public understandings of food risks, focusing on lay understandings of genetically modified (GM) food in the UK context. A range of theoretical, conceptual, and empirical literature on food, risk, and the public understanding of science are reviewed. The fieldwork methods are outlined and empirical data from a range of lay groups are presented. Major themes include: varying "technical" knowledge of science, the relationship between knowledge and acceptance of genetic modification, the uncertainty of scientific knowledge, genetic modification as inappropriate scientific intervention in "nature", the acceptability of animal and human applications of genetic modification, the appropriate boundaries of scientific innovation, the necessity for GM foods, the uncertainty of risks in GM food, fatalism about avoiding risks, and trust in "experts" to manage potential risks in GM food. Key discussion points relating to a sociological understanding of public attitudes to GM food are raised and some policy implications are highlighted.
本文报道了关于公众对食品风险认知的定性研究的一个方面，重点关注英国背景下公众对转基因食品的认知。回顾了一系列关于食品、风险以及公众对科学认知的理论、概念和实证文献。概述了实地调查方法，并展示了来自一系列普通群体的实证数据。主要主题包括：对科学的不同“技术”知识、知识与对基因改造的接受程度之间的关系、科学知识的不确定性、基因改造作为对“自然”的不当科学干预、基因改造在动物和人类应用中的可接受性、科学创新的适当界限、转基因食品的必要性、转基因食品风险的不确定性、对规避风险的宿命论以及对“专家”管理转基因食品潜在风险的信任。提出了与从社会学角度理解公众对转基因食品态度相关的关键讨论要点，并强调了一些政策含义。
