Figure: Level of trust survey stakeholders put into the different stakeholders regarding information about food production and plant genome editing (weighted means^a). Study A: How much do you trust the following groups when they communicate about genome editing in plants in your country? (−2 = not at all, −1 = not much, 0 = neutral, 1 = a little, 2 = fully). Study B: Please indicate your degree of trust in the following organisations regarding information and communication about food production in Europe. (−2 = completely distrust; −1 = distrust, 0 = neither trust nor distrust, 1 = trust, 2 = completely trust). ^a The weighting factor is calculated as the quotient of the target and actual distribution of the stakeholder groups. The target distribution corresponds to an equal distribution of the stakeholder groups in the sample. (x ≤ n ≤ y) represents the range of received responses from each surveyed stakeholder group for the assessed stakeholders. Reading example: In the survey, five journalists rated their trust in offices and 13 journalists rated their trust in environmental organisations. The means per SHG refer to these different case numbers.

Euroseeds and partners released the results of their study that assessed the communication activities and needs of European stakeholders involved in plant breeding innovation. The findings are published in the journal Food and Energy Security.

According to the study, a high level of trust is given by the stakeholders to representatives from academia. Across the different stakeholder groups, there is a high regard for topics such as safety, transparency, and sustainability. Furthermore, it was found that social media seem to play a subordinate role in interstakeholder communication but are vital for public outreach.

Based on the findings, the following recommendations on communicating about plant genome editing were presented:

• Include common societal goals in the narratives;
• Engage with education providers and academia;
• Reach out via professional magazines and activities;
• Frequently updated website with latest information; and
• Use social media rather to raise awareness,

Find out more in Food and Energy Security.