| Considerable
controversy exists with respect to the potential social benefits and
costs associated with the development and use of genetically modified
agricultural products (i.e., crops that have been altered by recombinant
DNA techniques). On the one hand, many in commercial agriculture and
industry feel that potential benefits significantly outweigh the potential
risks. Many environmentalists and consumers groups, on the other hand,
disagree. Regulators are often faced with the unenviable task of attempting
to mediate the concerns and interests of these disparate stakeholders
when developing regulatory policies with respect to genetically modified
agricultural products. Often, neither side is satisfied with the outcome.
Differences in perceptions held by stakeholders regarding the costs
and benefits of genetically modified agricultural products cut across
a wide array of social issues that include stewardship over the
environment, human health implications, corporate involvement in
agriculture, and moral/ethical issues. Social scientists have keenly
monitored the sociological phenomenon that has risen from the advent
of agricultural biotechnologies. Much of this observation has been
 conducted
through focus groups and surveys designed to gauge public reaction
to, and acceptance of, these technologies. In fact, most of the
survey work to date has concentrated on consumer perceptions of
the risks associated with genetically modified agricultural products
and on consumer willingness-to-pay for genetically modified agricultural
products relative to equivalent non-genetically modified products.
There has been, however, little research examining how different
stakeholders explicitly weight potential benefits against potential
costs. Such information may prove critical in determining the appropriate
role for genetically modified agricultural products in the agricultural
sector. A clearer understanding of overall differences in perceptions
of costs relative to benefits of genetically modified agricultural
products among major stakeholder groups, as well as underlying moral
and ethical concerns, concerns about corporate power, concerns about
human health, and concerns about environmental risks, is needed
to create a stronger basis for stakeholder interaction and discussion
in the regulatory process. Our survey work aims to fill such informational
gaps and extend existing knowledge in this area.
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