WHAT EUROPEANS THINK
ABOUT IT IN 1993
SURVEY CONDUCTED IN THE CONTEXT OF
EUROBAROMETER 39.1
Commission of the European Community
EUROBAROMETER 39.1
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND GENETIC
ENGINEERING :
WHAT EUROPEANS THINK ABOUT IT
IN 1993
Report written
for
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General "Science, Research and Development"
Unit XII/E/1 : "Biotechnologies"
by
INRA (EUROPE)
EUROPEAN COORDINATION OFFICE
October 1993
This opinion poll was undertaken at the request of the Commission of the
European Community
(Directorate-General
"Science, Research and
Development" ; Unit XII/E/1 : "Biotechnologies").
It was carried out in the whole of the European Community, in May-June
1993, by twelve specialist institutes, under the general coordination of INRA
(EUROPE) - European Coordination Office, based in Brussels.
The questionnaire, the names of the institutes involved in the research, as
well as various technical details (sampling method, composition of the
sample, ...) are in the appendix.
This report, written by Eric MARLIER, is in no way binding upon the
Commission of the European Community.
This report was originally written in French.
A QUICK GLANCE
AT THE STUDY
- a -
SOME KEY RESULTS OF THE SPRING 1993 SURVEY
-»
A large number of persons interviewed - particularly in Greece, Spain,
Ireland and Portugal - were unable or unwilling to answer certain
questions. Compared to the previous survey carried out on the same
subject (Spring 1991), this proportion has dropped however.
-»
As in the 1991 poll, the two main sources of information used by
Europeans for what concerns "new developments that affect our way
of life" are, in ranking order, television (the supremacy of which has yet
again been confirmed) and newspapers.
-»
In ranking order, the most reliable sources of information on
biotechnology/genetic engineering are considered to be environmental
organisations, consumer organisations and schools/universities.
In 1991, consumer organisations slightly supplanted environmental
organisations.
If consumer organisations ha