Media Framing of Genetically Modified Foods in the United States, France and Japan.

The paper comparatively examines how the issue of genetically modified (GM) foods is framed in the leading newspapers of the United States, France and Japan in 2000. Three main findings suggest different understandings of GM foods across the three countries. First, the analysis indicates the overall availability and prevalence of the market frame in the American context: In The New York Times, GM foods and issues surrounding them are most often addressed in economic terms. Second, in both Asahi Shimbun and Le Monde, unknown risk and scientific uncertainty were more often invoked than in The New York Times. Third, the analysis shows that the French newspaper frames GM foods as distinctively American more often than the Japanese one. These findings are generally consistent with findings of past research. They provide initial insights with which to further explore the complex processes whereby cultural resources, material interests and institutional arrangements in each national context interact to produce particular outcomes such as nationally distinct policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]