TY - JOUR
T1 - Moving from debate to dialogue about genetically engineered foods and crops
T2 - Insights from a land grant university
AU - Wilkins, J. L.
AU - Kraak, V.
AU - Pelletier, D.
AU - McCullum, C.
AU - Uusitalo, U.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by funding from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Agriculture Administration. The authors would like to thank members of the Division of Nutritional Sciences and the College of Agriculture and Life sciences who carefully reviewed the statements in the development phase of the Q concourse and the Q sample. The authors would also like to thank the manuscript reviewers for their helpful and thought-provoking comments.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Land Grant Universities (LGUs) are major centers of research on genetically engineered foods and crops. Cooperative extension plays an important role in planting decisions at the farm level and food acceptance at the consumer level. Using Q methodology, this study explored how LGU faculty and extension educators view complex and interrelated issues related to GE food crops. Three distinct viewpoints emerged: Precautionary, Promoting, and a minor viewpoint, Cautiously Supportive. With the exception of the role of LGUs, the two dominant viewpoints diverged in response to eight issue areas explored: public health, environmental sustainability, consumer choice, the food and agricultural system, food security, animal welfare, LGU responsibilities, and regulatory and policy processes. These findings have implications for the ways in which university faculty and cooperative extension stakeholders might engage in a meaningful and productive dialogue about agricultural genetic engineering. Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: Website:
AB - Land Grant Universities (LGUs) are major centers of research on genetically engineered foods and crops. Cooperative extension plays an important role in planting decisions at the farm level and food acceptance at the consumer level. Using Q methodology, this study explored how LGU faculty and extension educators view complex and interrelated issues related to GE food crops. Three distinct viewpoints emerged: Precautionary, Promoting, and a minor viewpoint, Cautiously Supportive. With the exception of the role of LGUs, the two dominant viewpoints diverged in response to eight issue areas explored: public health, environmental sustainability, consumer choice, the food and agricultural system, food security, animal welfare, LGU responsibilities, and regulatory and policy processes. These findings have implications for the ways in which university faculty and cooperative extension stakeholders might engage in a meaningful and productive dialogue about agricultural genetic engineering. Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: Website:
KW - Cooperative extension
KW - Genetically engineered crops
KW - Genetically engineered food
KW - Land grant universities
KW - Outlook on genetically engineered food crops
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U2 - 10.1300/J064v18n02_13
DO - 10.1300/J064v18n02_13
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0035686931
SN - 2168-3565
VL - 18
SP - 167
EP - 201
JO - Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
JF - Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
IS - 2-3
ER -