Assessment of public awareness, attitudes toward and acceptance of genetically modified foods in the city of Kaduna, Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria

Abstract

Food is an essential component of daily life, and hence an important topic for many consumers. Genetic modification technology involves the alteration of the genetic machinery of an organism and the application of this technology to food production holds a great promise to overcome global food insufficiency. This study investigates public awareness, knowledge and attitude as well as acceptance of genetically modified foods among consumers in Kaduna City, Northern Nigeria. Questionnaire which was structured to cover three main themes: demographic information, attitudes towards Genetically Modified (GM) foods and knowledge of Genetic technology, was administered to 220 participants. Our findings show that 86% of the respondents in our study are aware of GM foods indicating a high level of awareness; however, the level of knowledge for most of the respondents was rated average. The findings also showed that 70.9% and 81.6% of respondents possessing Bachelors and postgraduate degrees respectively accept that GM technology will improve our standard of living and were more likely to accept GM foods. Awareness, level of education and knowledge of Genetic technology was shown to be important for acceptability of GM foods. In addition most respondents expressed their trust on Scientists and Religious leaders to decide on GM foods and also indicated their source of information on GM foods as the public media, social media and lectures. Therefore it is imperative that those responsible for disseminating scientific knowledge on GM foods and technology at public gatherings or through public media sources be properly educated to enable consumers make informed decision on GM foods.

Keywords: Genetic technology, Public awareness, Attitude, GM Foods, Kaduna