Forty UMass students were surveyed regarding their ethical beliefs and understanding of genetic engineering in foods. We researched the background of GM foods, consumer acceptance, and the overall public opinion on this controversy. The survey consisted of ten questions highlighting various aspects of GM foods in regards to: knowledge, government regulation, risks/benefits, and safety. Survey options included the following; strongly agree, slightly agree, slightly disagree, and strongly disagree. Implementing this Likert-scale allowed for the data to be easily analyzed and displayed in a histogram model. Students individual responses to each of the ten questions were analyzed. We designed the survey, grouping questions that presented the same idea together. Question 1 introduced the topic of GMOs. Questions 2 and 3 were aimed towards government regulation, questions 4-7 asked about different influential motives for modifying these foods, and questions 8-10 explored the relation between knowledge and attitude in respect to GM technology. The histogram model presents a simple visual representation of the data. Analyzation of the data retrieved from the surveys simplified the process in making conclusions on college students opinions on GM foods and their regulations.
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