Abstract:

This study was carried out with the aim of identifying the knowledge and attitudes of teachers candidates about genetically modified organisms. The study was conducted in the 2017-2018 year period, with a total of 90 nurses and nurses candidates, including 58 women and 32 men, who received formation education at the Faculty of Education of the University of Fırat. The method of screening was used. The “Genetically Modified Organisms Survey” (Genetically Modified Organisms Survey) was developed by Iron and Pala (2007) as a data collection tool. The SPPS package program has been used to analyze the obtained data. 73.3% of participants said they heard the term GMO for the first time on television, while 21.1% said they heard it via the internet. The number of participants who said GMOs were needed to increase productivity in agriculture is 63.3%. 93.3% of participants said GMO could cause health problems. 83.3% of participants said they read the label of the products in the shop, 98.8% said GMO products should be listed on the packages and 92.2% said they would not buy those products if they were listed on the package. While all candidates said they would not consume a product that carries a pig gene, 5.6 percent said they could consume a product that carries a human gene. Among the products required to be scored, iron and beta carotene content gained the highest score in steel (1.88) while genetically modified tomatoes (1.21) gained the most negative score. According to these findings, health information teachers candidates have found that they lack knowledge about GMO and their views of GMO products are negative.