Susan Fritz and Dann Husmann
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Gary Wingenbach and Tracy Rutherford
Texas A&M University
Valerie Egger and Preeti Wadhwa
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

To be successful both domestically and internationally, biotech- nology must establish an acceptable position in the sociopoliti- cal framework. This United States (US) study assessed levels of awareness and acceptance of biotechnology issues among youth (n = 283), undergraduate students (n = 330), and adults (n = 166). The percentage of adults who were aware of how bio- technology would affect food, health, and the environment was almost three times that of youth respondents. It was concluded that consumer groups would most likely be impacted by accu- rate, unbiased agricultural biotechnology information delivered through the Internet and newspapers that originates from reli- able, accessible, and science-based sources.

Key words: Adolescents, adult, biotechnology, consumer, genetically modified, GM, undergraduates, youth.