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[SANET-MG] Consumer support of GM declines
food navigator
Consumer support of GM declines, study
22/02/2006- Consumer acceptance of genetically engineered (GE) food has
slipped in recent years, according to a new study that brings together
results from a number of national surveys.
The findings, by Cornell University researchers, were presented at the
American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting on
Sunday.
The researchers conducted four annual national surveys from 2003 to
2005, and three annual surveys of New Yorkers during the same period,
with a total of almost 5,000 respondents.
The surveys, which were all “very consistent” with each other, revealed
that 38 percent of respondents in 2005 perceived GE foods as “high
risk,” compared to 27 percent in 2003.
This “slight but significant shift” toward “less support and more risk
perception” may be connected to the decline in media coverage of
biotechnology during the period, said the researchers, who found that
the more attention people paid to the news, the more likely they were to
support GE food.
"Overall, research shows that GE foods are safe and effective, though
some people still harbor reservations about it," said lead researcher
James Shanahan. "I suspect that the more people are exposed to the news,
the more aware they are of biotechnology and, therefore, more supportive
of it."
“As it moved out of the news, biotechnology became more tied to other
attitudes about science and what’s natural,” added researcher John Besely.
“Biotechnology carries a certain ‘yuk-factor’ for some people. People
could have relied on their basic instincts rather than having thought
through the issue,” he told FoodNavigator-USA.com.
However, he added that the research did not examine consumer behavior,
and he was unable to comment on the impact of the changes in consumer
perception on sales of foods containing genetically modified ingredients.
The study also revealed that while some people feel biotechnology is
beneficial, others believe it has negative effects on health and the
environment.
Women and non-Caucasians were also found to harbor less support for GE
food than men and Caucasians.
According to the researchers, recent estimates suggest that more than
two thirds of the food in the US contains some amount of a genetically
engineered crop, with corn and soybeans being the crops to be most
frequently modified, followed by canola and cotton.
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