Posted on 19-5-2002
In
USA Labelling Wanted For GE Foods
A Work Product of the Center for Food Safety - Washington, DC
Below is a compilation of poll results concerning genetically
engineered
foods listed in chronological order:
* 90% of Americans said foods created through genetic engineering
processes
should have special labels on them (Rutgers University' Food
Policy
Institute study, November 2001)
* 90% of American farmers support labels on biotech products
if they are
scientifically different from conventional foods and 61% support
labels on
biotech products even if not scientifically different. (Farm
Foundation/Kansas State University, survey of farms throughout
the U.S.,
September 2001).
* 93% of Americans say the federal government should require
labels saying
whether it's been genetically modified, or bioengineered. "Such
near
unanimity in public opinion is rare" (ABC News.com poll, June
2001).
* 75% of Americans say it is important to them to know whether
a food
product contains genetically modified ingredients. (Pew Initiative
on Food
and Biotechnology poll, March 2001).
* 86% of Americans think that the government should require
the labeling of
all packaged and other food products stating that they include
corn, soy or
other products which have come from genetically modified crops
(Harris
Poll, June 2000).
* 79% of Americans said it should not be legal to sell genetically
modified
fruits and vegetables without special labels (USA Today, February
2000).
* 86% of Americans want labels on genetically engineered foods
(International Communications Research, March 2000)
* 81% of Americans think the government should require genetically
engineered food products to be labeled. 89% of Americans think
the
government should require pre-market safety testing of genetically
engineered foods before they are marketed, as with any food
additive.
(MSNBC Live Vote Results, January 2000).
* Over 80% of Americans support the right of the European Union
and Japan
to require the labeling of genetically engineered food imported
from the
United States. (Univ. of Md. Center for the Study of Policy
Attitudes, et
al., November 1999).
* 92% of Americans support legal requirements that all genetically
engineered foods be labeled. (BSMG Worldwide for the Grocery
Manufacturers
of America, September 1999).
* Almost 70% of Americans think the U.S. government should require
more
extensive labeling of ingredients in genetically engineered
food. (Edelman
Public Relations Worldwide in Bloomberg News, September 1999).
* 81% of American consumers believe GE food should be labeled.
58% say that
if GE foods were labeled they would avoid purchasing them. (Time
magazine,
January 1999).
* 93% of women surveyed say they want all GE food clearly labeled.
(National Federation of Women's Institutes, 1998).
* 93% of Americans who responded to a Novartis survey agree
that GE foods
should be labeled as such. 73% of those agree strongly with
the position.
(Novartis, February 1997). 25% say they would be likely to avoid
labeled
GE foods.
* 84% of 604 New Jersey residents polled want mandatory labeling
of GE
fruits and vegetables, 60% would consider buying fresh vegetables
if they
were labeled as having been produced by genetic engineering
and 76% favor
farmers voluntarily putting labels on their produce that say
the items were
not genetically engineered. (USDA, July 1995).
* 94% of 1,900 consumers polled believed that milk should be
labeled to
distinguish milk from rbGH-treated cows, 10% of milk drinkers
say they buy
their products from non-treated cows and more than 74% of consumers
say
they are concerned about the possible discovery of negative
long-term
effects on human health associated with rbGH. (USDA, March-June
1995).
* 92% of 36,000 polled say they want GE food labeled, with a
94%
pro-labeling response from women and a 84% pro-labeling response
from men.
(Vance Publishing, in Food R&D, February 1995).
* 81% of 8,000 subscribers to PRODIGY Internet service think
that milk
containers should be labeled to indicate whether or not the
milk comes from
cows treated with rbGH. 92% of women; 78% of men (PRODIGY Internet
company, March 1994).
* 88% of respondents favor mandatory labeling from rbGH-treated
cows, 9%
oppose mandatory labeling and 3% are unsure (St. Norbert College
and Wisc.
Pub. Radio, February 1994).
* 85% of those polled think that labeling of GE food is "very
important"
(USDA, 1992).
* In an FDA sponsored survey in 1992, 8 state attorneys general
asked the
FDA to require mandatory labeling of all GE foods.
* 77% of North Carolinians polled feel that producing more nutritious
food
is the most desirable use of genetic engineering, 80% of those
polled say
too little regulation of GE poses serious health risks to humans,
and 67%
feel that GE will give large scale farmers an unfair advantage
over small
scale farmers (July 1989).
* Labeling of dairy products from rBGH-treated cows was favored
in all the
following studies:
* University of Wisconsin (68%) 1990
* Dairy Today (81%) 1989
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute (85%)1990
* University of Missouri (95%) 1990
* Johanna Dairy (98%) 1989
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