www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

Fifty two percent of those polled in the latest Eurobarometer survey on
biotechnology, published today, indicated a belief that biotechnology will
improve their quality of life, June 2006.

The Eurobarometer ?Europeans and biotechnology in 2005? shows that most
Europeans are in favour of medical (red) applications of biotechnology when
there are clear benefits for human health; and industrial
(white)applications, but they are still mostly sceptical about agricultural
(green) biotech, and will continue to be so unless new crops and products
are seen to have consumer benefits.

Confidence has increased in the European Union's regulation of biotechnology
but there is no evidence that this has influenced the public's reported
purchasing intentions, especially for GM foods. Overall, optimism about
biotechnology's contribution to improving society has grown significantly
since 1999. There is also support for research using stem cells, provided
this is tightly regulated. This survey is the latest in a series of regular
surveys on attitudes to biotechnology undertaken since 1991. The survey will
be presented at a workshop on 22 June 2006 in Brussels.

The survey examines issues such as:

- Optimism about the contribution of technology, including biotechnology, to
our way of life. Here, the survey shows that optimism about biotechnology
has increased since 1999, after a period of decline (52% say it will improve
their life)

- The development of nanotechnology, pharmacogenetics (analysing a person?s
genetic code in order to create drugs which are tailored to him/her and are
therefore more effective) and gene therapy, all three of which are generally
perceived as useful to society and morally acceptable.

- GM food, where a majority of Europeans (58%) think it should not be
encouraged,

- Industrial (white) technologies, such as bio-fuels, bio-plastics (plastics
manufactured from crop plants) and biopharming (the use of genetically
modified plants in the production of medicines and pharmaceutical products)
for pharmaceuticals, which are widely supported.

- Stem cell research, where there is considerable support across Europe, if
tightly regulated. There is approval for use of both stem cells derived from
umbilical cords (65%) and embryonic stem cells (59%), with 26% of people
saying they do not approve of embryonic stem cell research at all or only
under very special circumstances.

- Use of personal genetic data, with 58% of participants indicating they
would allow their genetic data to be banked for research purposes, though
there are differing levels of support for genetic data banks across the EU.

- Trust in actors involved in biotechnology, which shows growing levels of
trust in university and industry scientists (73% and 64%). The EU is seen as
more trustworthy than national governments on issues of regulating
biotechnology (74% compared with 68%).

- Comparison of attitudes with US and Canada, dispelling claims that
European public opinion is more technology-adverse than its transatlantic
partners.

Close analysis of the data shows that it is inaccurate to ascribe certain
attitudes to biotechnology by age group, or gender.

This survey is the latest in a series of such Eurobarometers on
biotechnology conducted in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2002 and 2005. The sixth
Eurobarometer on Biotechnology 2005 is based on a representative sample of
25 000 respondents, approximately 1 000 in each EU Member State.

The full article can be found at:
[www.ec.europa.eu]-
may2006_en.pdf

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