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The Flow of Scientific Knowledge from Lab to the Lay Public

The Case of Genetically Modified Food

Nora Bird

Mary Nucci

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

This article reports on a study of how scientific knowledge about genetically modified (GM) food flows to the American public, focusing on language and message genres in the scientific literature, newspapers, and popular magazines. A comprehensive search of these literatures from 1992 to 2002 revealed a publishing pattern of scientific communication that contrasted with that found in the lay press. Examination of this difference led researchers to a scientific study on the effect of GM corn pollen on the Monarch butterfly. The case study of the discourse surrounding this event demonstrates how press releases affect what is published in the popular press. The role of this event in generating subtle repercussions in the perceptions of U.S. consumers, similar to the ripple effects found in Kasperson’s social amplification of risk theory, is analyzed and reported.

Key Words: biotechnology • genetically modified food • scholarly publishing • media studies • consumer learning • knowledge development, newspapers • GM food

Science Communication, Vol. 26, No. 1, 44-74 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1075547004267024


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