People who most intensely oppose genetically modified food think they know a lot about food science, but they actually know the least, according to a peer-reviewed paper published in January in the journal Nature Human Behaviour. GMOs are widely considered safe by scientists, but opponents have said they want more science on the potential harm so that subjective arguments aren't part of the equation. However, previous surveys have shown that providing more scientific facts about GMOs to people doesn't change their minds.The survey, conducted by four universities, asked 2,000 people in Europe and the United States how much they knew about genetically modified food, what their opinion was and how intense it was. The study asked a series of true-or-false questions about science, ranging from basic issues like whether the core of the Earth is hot or cold to questions on genetics, like "Does a non-genetically modified tomato have genes?" The results showed the more strongly people reported being opposed to GMOs, the lower their test score."A lot of people are upset by genetically modified food," said Sydney Scott, a marketing professor at Washington University in St. Louis, one of the schools that ran the study."We have to get people to recognize gaps in their knowledge before we try to teach them new things and have a meaningful discussion," she added.