--- description: Scientists say that is not a good thing title: Most Americans and Scientists Tend to Disagree, Survey Finds image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte92bde63f7daae0e/69877cb0524fc0d53ddec340/science-chemistry-beakers.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Research](/tag/research/) ## Research Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Most Americans and Scientists Tend to Disagree, Survey Finds by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 29, 2015 9:54 PM CUT  Chemical lab glassware Chemical lab glasswareGetty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 29, 2015 9:54 PM CUT Regular Americans and their scientist counterparts think much differently about science-related issues, according to a [new pair of surveys](http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/ "undefined"). The [Pew Research Center](http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/ "undefined"), in collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, asked 5,750 American citizens and scientists their opinions on a series of scientific topics. They found striking gaps between the two groups, particularly on issues related to biomedical science. Food is a major source of friction for the both camps. A full 57% of Americans think that consuming genetically modified foods is unsafe, but 88% of scientists say GMO foods are safe to eat. Pesticide use is another contentious issue: 68% of scientists think it’s safe to eat foods grown with pesticides, while only 28% of lay Americans agree. When it comes to using animals in research, 89% of scientists give the practice the green light, but only 47% of Americans are ok with it—and 50% of Americans are against the use of animals in research. Non-scientist Americans were also far less likely to believe in evolution than scientists. On eight of the 13 topics, researchers saw at least a 20-percentage point gap in opinion between Americans and scientists. That’s a troubling statistic, scientists say. According to the survey, 84% of them believe the public’s lack of knowledge about the field is a major problem. Scientists and non-scientists agree on at least one topic, however: neither group thinks that science, technology, engineering and math education in American elementary and high schools is performing well enough when compared to programs across the globe. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3688497/pew-science-research/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3688497/pew-science-research/"},"headline":"Most Americans and Scientists Tend to Disagree, Survey Finds","datePublished":"2015-01-29T21:54:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:00:01.225Z","description":"And that's not a good thing, scientists say","url":"https://time.com/3688497/pew-science-research/","keywords":["Research","Science topic","Pew Research Center","Pew"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte92bde63f7daae0e/69877cb0524fc0d53ddec340/science-chemistry-beakers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte92bde63f7daae0e/69877cb0524fc0d53ddec340/science-chemistry-beakers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"science chemistry beakers","caption":"science chemistry beakers","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3688497/pew-science-research/","name":"Most Americans and Scientists Tend to Disagree, Survey Finds"}}]}] ```