Most Americans and Scientists Tend to Disagree Survey Finds
Regular Americans and their scientist counterparts think much differently about science-related issues, according to a new pair of surveys. The Pew Research Center, in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, asked 5,750 American citizens and scientists their opinions on a series of scientific topics. They found striking gaps between the two groups, particularly on issues related to biomedical science. Food is a major source of friction for the both camps. A full 57 of Americans think that consuming genetically modified foods is unsafe, but 88 of scientists say GMO foods are safe to eat. Pesticide use is another contentious issue 68 of scientists think it's safe to eat foods grown with pesticides, while only 28 of lay Americans agree. When it comes to using animals in research, 89 of scientists give the practice the green light, but only 47 of Americans are ok with itand 50 of Americans are against the use of animals in research. Non-scientist Americans were also far less likely to believe in evolution than scientists. On eight of the 13 topics, researchers saw at least a 20-percentage point gap in opinion between Americans and scientists. That's a troubling statistic, scientists say. According to the survey, 84 of them believe the public's lack of knowledge about the field is a major problem. Scientists and non-scientists agree on at least one topic, however neither group thinks that science, technology, engineering and math education in American elementary and high schools is performing well enough when compared to programs across the globe.