With more than a year’s worth of gathered and analyzed data, the PIE Center’s quarterly public opinion surveys are uncovering a wide range of misconceptions when it comes to important agricultural and natural resources issues.
PIE Center researchers ask voting-age Floridians for their attitudes, knowledge and behaviors regarding water quality and quantity, undocumented immigration, endangered species and food production. The series began February 2013, and researchers will repeat the four surveys yearly to track changes in public opinion.
Of the four survey topics, Floridians rank water as the most important issue in the state, just ahead of food safety. Respondents consider water issues below only the economy and healthcare.
“The infographic based on the water issues public opinion survey has been a great tool for engaging people in the water issues conversation. This information, in graphic form, helps us understand what the knowledge gaps and concerns about water issues may be for the portion of the general population that we don’t reach through programming.” — Shannon Carnevale, UF/IFAS Extension Polk Co.
Although only 41 percent believe Florida will have enough water to support residents’ needs in the next decade, about half would not put a timer in the bathroom to remind them to take shorter showers. More than two-thirds of Floridians indicated a willingness to pay a slightly increased water bill in order to protect future water supply.
Floridians are similarly conflicted about undocumented immigration, according to the surveys. Eighty-nine percent of Floridians agree with allowing undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship but many deem undocumented immigrants a burden on the economy and believe they qualify for too many government benefits. Further, 30 percent of Floridians mistakenly believe that children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants are not U.S. citizens.
When it comes to protecting endangered species, residents strongly agreed that land development should be restricted to protect endangered species and that native species should be protected from invasive plants and animals. Overall, Floridians are more willing to avoid harmful activities than proactively engage in environmentally friendly behaviors.
PIE Center researchers will add questions exploring Floridians’ opinions of invasive plants and animals to this year’s endangered species survey, the results of which will be published in August.
The food production survey asked for residents’ opinions on food security, food safety and genetically modified organisms, commonly known as GMOs.
Floridians are largely unsure and wary about GMOs, with about half worrying about their safety and threat to the environment. Forty-five percent of Floridians believed that GMOs presented a greater risk for food allergies and food poisoning, but more than half would purchase clothes made from genetically modified fibers. More than half of state residents also agreed that genetic modification should be used to save citrus trees from disease, but only 42 percent indicated that they would purchase genetically modified citrus fruit or juice.
As far as food safety and security, Floridians are more worried about being able to afford food than having access to safe and nutritious food. Residents are slightly more worried about the safety of growth hormones, additives and preservatives in food than they are about bacteria in food. Results from the next food production practices survey will be released early December.
