www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

Americans? knowledge of genetically modified foods remains low; majority are
skeptical about animal cloning. New Poll Reveals U.S. consumers believe
ethical and moral considerations should be part of the US. government?s
regulation of genetically modified and cloned animals, November 2005.

Americans? knowledge of genetically modified (GM) foods and animals
continues to remain low, and their opinions reflect that they are
particularly uncomfortable with animal cloning, according to a new survey
released today by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology. The survey
also shows that religious and ethical concerns play a significant role in
consumer attitudes towards cloning, and that a significant majority of
consumers believe that the government should include ethical and moral
considerations when making regulatory decisions about cloning and GM
animals. Despite continuing concerns about GM foods, consumers do not
support banning new uses of the technology, but rather seek an active role
from regulators to ensure that new products are safe. When asked about
importation of foreign GM products, consumers demonstrated little awareness
but clearly favor U.S. regulation.

Using data from similar surveys released by the Pew Initiative on Food and
Biotechnology in March 2001, September 2003 and September 2004 for tracking
purposes, the analsis of the poll and opinion survey released today provides
an in-depth understanding of consumers? attitudes regarding GM foods.

Highlights include:


Overall awareness of GM foods and biotechnology is up slightly, but overall
attitudes are unchanged. While nearly sixty-one percent of Americans say
they are generally familiar with science and technology, a majority of
people polled (58 percent) remain unaware of GM foods, with 41 percent
saying they have heard about GM food that is sold in grocery stores.


Consumers have heard little about the importation of foreign GM products,
but favor U.S. regulation. The potential for importation of GM foods
produced abroad is not on consumers? radar screen. Four in five Americans
(80 percent) say they have heard little or nothing about importation of GM
foods. Even so, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) oppose the importation of GM
foods, including a majority (52 percent) who express strong opposition. In
addition, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of consumers surveyed strongly
favor ensuring that foreign producers face the same level of regulation that
American producers face.


Americans claim to have heard about animal cloning ? and are uncomfortable
with it. The majority of people polled (65 percent) claims to have heard
about animal cloning, compared to 41 percent of the public who have heard of
GM foods, 34 percent who are familiar with GM animals, and less than one in
five Americans (18 percent) who are familiar with the potential impo rtation
of GM foods. Sixty-six percent of American consumers polled indicated that
they are largely uncomfortable with animal cloning. In addition, less than a
quarter (23 percent) of consumers believe food produced from animal clones
is safe, while 43 percent believe it is unsafe; and one-third (34 percent)
of consumers do not have an opinion on the safety of animal cloning.


Consumers most strongly support GM uses that are designed to protect against
disease. Although most Americans oppose genetically modifying or cloning
animals, the most widely favored uses are those that offer direct human
benefits, including producing chickens resistant to avian flu (40 percent
?very good reason?) or producing cattle resistant to mad cow disease (40
percent ?very good reason.)?


Consumers strongly believe that ethical and moral considerations should be
part of the animal cloning regulatory equation. A strong majority (63
percent) of Americans believe government agencies should include moral and
ethical considerations when making regulatory decisions about cloning and
genetically modifying animals, with 53 percent feeling that way strongly.


?From the survey results, it is clear that moral and ethical concerns play a
big role in forming consumer attitudes, particularly towards animal cloning,
and that U.S. consumers want these issues to be part of the public debate,?
said Michael Fernandez, executive director of the Pew Initiative on Food and
Biotechnology. ?Despite these concerns, consumers do not support banning new
uses of biotechnology, but are looking to government regulators to provide
assurance that new products are safe. The ability of the U.S. regulatory
system to keep pace with changing technology ? whether it?s new GM crops or
animals or imports ? will be critical to maintaining consumer confidence.?

The nationwide survey, conducted by The Mellman Group and Public Opinion
Strategies, October 10-16, consisted of telephone interviews of 1,000
American consumers. The margin of error for this survey is +/-3.1 percent.
The margin of error is higher for subgroups.

GM foods have been in the U.S. marketplace for the past nine years. Today,
approximately 105.7 million acres of GM crops are grown in the U.S., with
farmers producing GM corn, cotton, soybeans, canola, squash and papaya.
Other countries are beginning to develop their own GM food products which
they may be interested in importing into the U.S. To date, all GM food
products on the market have gone through the U.S. regulatory review process.
Scientists have developed GM or transgenic animals, which are animals with
genes inserted from another organism, for a variety of purposes including
treating human disease and improving the efficiency of food production.
Animal clones, which are offspring genetically identical to a single parent,
are being developed as a way of preserving elite animals for food production
and preserving rare or endangered species. No products from GM or cloned
animals have been approved for sale in the U.S.

View a summary of the findings from the survey, as well as the statistical
results at [pewagbiotech.org]

Other polls conducted by the Pew Initiative can be viewed at
[pewagbiotech.org]

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