Cultures in the laboratory: mapping similarities and differences between Māori and non-Māori in engaging with gene-editing technologies in Aotearoa, New Zealand

Abstract

Public engagement on rapidly advancing gene-editing technologies requires attention not merely to science and economics, but also to culture. In focusing on the similarities and differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives on new and emerging genetic technologies, this article reports on a national survey in Aotearoa New Zealand among a stratified random sample of an equal number of Māori and non-Māori participants. Identifying approaches to the experimentation, use, and potential commercialization of genetic technologies, the article moves along the continuum of nuanced cultural insights into gene editing for purposes ranging from human medical treatments and food production to conservation of native species of plants and animals and pest eradication. The development of typologies using K-means cluster analysis reveals the public’s complex responses to genetic modification as well as gene editing. The article signals how recognizing a diversity of values on gene-editing technologies can help shape a robust policy design on the use and regulation of gene technologies in a variety of sectors and contexts.