Kenyans Trust Scientists and Media on Genetically Modified Foods

Research International, a custom market research firm, last week released findings of a survey on public perception of biotechnology in Kenya. The survey found that Kenyans are ready to grow genetically modified crops.

About 81 per cent of respondents called for the adoption of modern agricultural technologies such as biotechnology.

Asked who they trusted most in disseminating information on genetically modified crops, about 77 per cent of the respondents mentioned medical professionals and the media.

A paltry 15 per cent mentioned nongovernmental organizations, which leads to the question, “Are scientists and the media doing enough to disseminate factual and timely information about genetically modified foods to the public, especially in developing countries where awareness is low?

This is a question I have dealt with since I began blogging on agricultural biotechnology two years ago, and I regret to say that scientists and the media have failed the world as far as genetically modified foods debate is concerned.

Scientists and scientific organizations, mostly, have abdicated the task of defending genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the mass media to public affairs officers.

Rarely do scientists grant media interviews or pen opinion articles stating the true health and environmental benefits of GMOs. They reserve their writings, replete with scientific lingo, for peer-reviewed journals, that are largely beyond the comprehension and reach of ordinary people.

They believe that scientific conferences are the ideal venues to run the GMOs debate. As they confine themselves to Ivory Towers, nongovernmental organizations, with scanty knowledge of GMOs, flood the mass media with sensational propaganda on the issue. They unrelentingly feed the public with lies that GM foods pose grave threat to human health and the environment. Why should scientists allow this mediocrity to thrive?

Scientists need to be more engaged with the public. GMOs are their baby, and they should not abandon it midstream. Massive resources are expended in the development of GMOs. Ensuring GMOs reach farmers is a solemn duty of every scientist. Groupings that can’t complete the simplest of a lab experiment must not be allowed to hijack the GMOs debate.

The Kenya survey shows that the public is dying to engage with scientists on the issue of GMOs. If scientists don’t demonstrate agility in defending GMOs, merchants of lies and propaganda will step in, and continue misleading the public about genetically modified foods.