Assessment of Knowledge and Attitudes on Genetically Modified Foods Among Students Studying Life Sciences

Genetic engineering has stimulated interest in a range of fields, including agribusiness, food technology, food product development, and nutrition. Even though the public opinion on genetically modified (GM) goods is polarizing, the majority of experts believe that the advantages outweigh any potential risks, if at all there are any. As a result, the role of science education is to prepare students to be citizens who have a fundamental understanding of genetic engineering. As the students of life sciences are the future scientific experts and scholars who progress in the subject of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), they need to have correct knowledge of GMOs, GM foods, and appropriate attitudes regarding the same.

To investigate the knowledge and attitudes of life-sciences university students (n= 203) concerning GM foods, a cross-sectional observational survey-based study was carried out by administering a structured questionnaire across three disciplines of life sciences - Biotechnology, Food Technology, and Nutrition for undergraduates, postgraduates, and post-graduate diploma students. The scores for knowledge and attitudes were divided into tertiles as high, moderate, and low scores.

88.2% of the participants agreed to have read about GMOs in their curriculum and 76.8% had defined GM foods correctly. When the participants were categorized into tertiles, it was observed that out of all the high scorers, 45.5% were food technology majors and 43% were biotechnology majors and only 11.3% were nutrition majors. 63.1% of students were found to be in favor of GMOs and GM foods and had a positive attitude toward them. There was a moderately positive association of knowledge levels with attitudes toward GMOs and GM foods (p< 0.05).

Although in general, the life-sciences students had the basic knowledge of GMOs and GM foods, the food technology, and biotechnology majors had better knowledge about GMOs and GM foods as compared to nutrition majors. The attitude scores were directly proportional to knowledge scores which emphasizes the need for robust science education on comprehending the topic better. Incorporating a GM-related curriculum for nutrition discipline can help students learn better about the issues surrounding transgenic technology, food safety, and nutrition.