Science and communication: An indispensable alliance

13/12/2016

Consumers must update their information before daring to make decisions and not opt for beliefs rather than their knowledge, for this, communication is essential as a tool for disseminating scientific advances

We live in a society in which the basic pillars on which it stands are the advance of science and technology, so we are willing to accept the changes that are issued from those fields for the development of man or humanity, therefore , we must know its contents at least in its fundamental aspects.

The dissemination of the advances of science to society as a whole, or the communication of its achievements to ordinary people, becomes indispensable and is now a field that is due.

For example, it occurs with the discussion about the genetic modification of plants and, therefore, of food.

This scientific process has succeeded in introducing one or several genes in plants with the aim of achieving greater resistance to insects, pests or diseases, or to being more resistant to water scarcity, which is why these plants are more in line with the climatic deficiencies and more appropriate to the development of a sustainable agriculture. They are also more productive so they are more in line with the enormous food needs of a world in constant growth.

In a recent study, of the universities of Florida and State of Oklahoma, on the knowledge of the American consumers with respect to the transgenics, it was surveyed more of 1000 volunteers, between men and women, and the questions pointed to the general knowledge on the transgenics , about how they are grown, or their risks as food. They also asked about more specific knowledge, such as the number of altered chromosomes or whether they should have special labeling.

Only the 8% of the respondents found out about transgenics, the 32% said they knew something and the 60% did not know anything or very little. However, the 34% considered that they are a food hazard against an 32% that considered them safe. The remaining 32% was not decided between both options.

Regarding labeling, the most surprising thing was that the 80% requested that it be indicated that it contains DNA, which, as we all know, is a basic component of living beings, that is, all products marketed should include this indication.

In a developed country like the United States, consumers do not know about the foods that come from the genetic modification of plants, nor the scientific techniques necessary to produce them.

In conclusion, consumers should update their information before daring to make decisions and not opt for beliefs rather than their knowledge, for this, communication is essential as a tool for disseminating scientific advances, and specialized publications are no longer enough , nor the debates behind closed doors, it is necessary to transmit the contents of the scientific research process to the citizens, extracting the information from the laboratories and placing them at the access of general knowledge.

At present there is enough scientific consensus on the subject of genetic modification of organisms and there are already thousands (1783) published articles on the safety of transgenics, demonstrating not only the agreement among scientists, but also their cultivation in all the world and the verification that no risk has been detected in its use and consumption.

There is a clear lack of dissemination of scientific knowledge, which has resulted in a great lack of information among citizens, so they are more prone to media manipulation of interests of others.

Moreover, the thousands of studies carried out conclude that the planting of GMOs reduces the use of pesticides in an 37%, which is great news for human and environmental health. Also the genetic modification of the plants improves the productivity of the crops in an 22%, which implies a contribution to the food security of the planet, and finally, this practice increases the economic benefits of the farmers in an 68%, which constitutes a great incentive for the development of agricultural practice, in a world where every day more territory is derived to urban infrastructure, to the detriment of the only industry that can solve food problems for the human species: agriculture.

Source: Blueberrieschile.cl - Blueberriesconsulting.com