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