The Pros And Cons Of Anti-GMO Decision Making

Religion, any religion, also represent a powerful persuasive aspect of cognition that can be related to the formation of anti-GMO thinking. People tend to believe that nature has its own purpose and value, and has been created by a higher agent, which power and actions are a priori undiscussable and untouchable. Such reasoning leads to a conclusion that any attempts to change and/or manipulate the natural way of existence and development of any organisms by the means of technological intervention is wrong, and opposes the will of that higher agent. According to Blancke, genetic modification is perceived by religious people as a “game” where scientists try to play a role of God, consequently going against the will of nature and causing disasters
The problem lies deeper, and represent a result of a complex interaction between the concepts of though formation, cognition and society, where individuals beliefs are heavily influenced by major identity-shaping factors including one’s culture, mentality, and surrounding environment. The information on meaning of scientific progress, its purpose and importance should definitely be more accessible for the masses, so people can form appropriate assumptions regarding any of scientific activities. Anti-GMO propaganda is effective, in part, due to its emotional manipulation of people’s minds, in part, due to people’s own perception, and, in part, due to cognitive tendency to believe into something that just sounds more familiar, more understandable and more persuasive. To change this misperception concerning genetic modification and biotechnology, pro-GMO organizations should simply use the same psychological “techniques”. Clear explanations of various benefits and overall importance of genetic modification for modern agriculture would definitely contribute to the formation of more positive public