‘Enviromental and Biotechnology’

Unlike most technoscientific advances, which take their place silently in the order of things, developments in biotechnology attract considerable interest, debate and regulatory attention. For this reason, the public’s perceptions of biotechnology have been the object of study in recent years, on the grounds that the acceptance, resistance or even rejection shown towards certain applications and lines of research will depend on what the public knows about them, and how they are judged.

The BBVA Foundation is pleased to present its first study on perceptions of and attitudes towards biotechnology in nine European countries (Spain, Italy, Poland, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria). The novel aspect of this survey compared to the Eurobarometer and other national studies, is the breadth and depth of its subject matter. The areas covered are firstly, perceptions of science and technology as a whole, and, secondly, knowledge and attitudes towards the environment and biotechnology. The following specific issues are addressed:- Perceptions of and interest and trust in science as a whole- Knowledge and perceptions regarding the environment and biotechnology: – Images of nature and environmental attitudes – Animal cloning and its possible extension to human beings- Experimentation with human embryos for stem cell procurement- Preimplantation diagnostics and their possible uses- Plant and food biotechnology.