By Laura Gorham
Floridians agree that genetic modification should be used to save the state’s citrus industry, according to recent research by the UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education.
In the PIE Center’s newest public opinion survey, researchers explored Floridians’ attitudes toward using genetic modification to develop citrus plants resistant to Huanglongbing, commonly known as citrus greening. Respondents to the online survey were asked to read the following facts about the disease and its impact on the industry:
A disease known as citrus greening is spreading quickly throughout the state of Florida. The disease affects the trees’ uptake of nutrients, leaving the fruit sour and the tree malnourished. There is no cure for the disease, and pesticides have failed to stop the spread of the disease that eventually kills the tree. Research has been done to find a citrus tree resistant to the disease, but none have been found. Without a solution, this disease could lead to the demise of the Florida citrus industry. Genetic modification is a possible solution for saving the Florida citrus industry.
After reading this description, 52 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that genetic modification should be used to save the citrus industry, while another 33 percent of the respondents felt neutral about the scenario.
Further, 42 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would purchase genetically modified Florida-grown citrus fruit and juice, in addition to the 32 percent who felt neutral about their intent to purchase. A quarter of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that they would purchase genetically modified fruit and juice.
PIE Center Director Tracy Irani said she believed the positive responses could be made because of the emotional connection and personal relevance Floridians feel about the citrus industry.
“Depending on how you ask it, and you need to have that caveat, the public can respond positively to genetic modification,” Irani said. “The way in which the question was framed might have had an effect on the responses. Because we connected GMOs to saving the citrus industry, Floridians may feel an emotional attachment to an industry that is iconic for many in the state.”
Previous PIE Center research on message framing supports this. The research suggested that members of the general public cared about issues and topics that were personally important and relevant to them. In addition, the public favors transparency and the opportunity to learn the facts about a specific situation.
Articles in the New York Times and The Grower discuss the possibility of creating transgenic citrus trees through specific breeding or genetically modification as a solution to the citrus greening epidemic.
Presentations and research by UF scientists explain how genetically modified, or transgenic, approaches are a viable option to develop citrus with resistance to citrus greening.
PIE Center research shows that consumers are likely to support the citrus industry if genetic modification ultimately turns out to provide a solution. Joy Rumble, PIE Center researcher and an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, said consumers’ outlook on genetically modified organisms could be affected when presented with a specific scenario, such as citrus greening.
“It shows how consumers can be influenced when they are presented with the facts or given a scenario,” Rumble said.
These perceptions come from the PIE Center’s larger study aimed at understanding public perceptions of food-related issues. More than 500 Floridians took the online survey, and researchers weighted responses to be representative of 2010 Census demographics.
The survey, part of a series that includes water quality and quantity, immigration reform and endangered species, will repeat annually to track changes in public opinion over time.
