Transcript Consumers’ Considerations of Agro

Consumers’ Considerations of
Agro-biotechnology
Julie Garden-Robinson, PhD, LRD
Food and Nutrition Specialist
Outline
 Influences
on consumer
knowledge and attitudes
 Critics
 Media
 Scientists/regulators
 Consumer
survey results
Some Foods/Products Modified
through Biotechnology
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Cotton/oil
Soybeans
Corn/syrup, oil
Potatoes/chips, fries, starch
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Peppers
Cow’s milk
Biotech Foods/Products
Papaya
 Sugar beets/sugar
 Flax
 Chymosin/Rennet (used in
cheesemaking)
 Aspartame (via protein altered with
bacteria)

Possible Benefits of
Biotechnology

Improved nutrition


Removed allergens


Beta-carotene and lycopene-rich tomato
varieties
Allergenic protein removed from rice
Reduced fat absorption

Higher-starch potatoes with lower oil
absorption
Benefits cont…

Altered fat content


Oils with altered fatty acid content
Vaccines

Bananas with hepatitis B vaccine

No refrigeration required so easier to store than
traditional hepatitis B vaccines
What Do the Critics of
Biotechnology Say?
What Do the Critics Say?
Safety testing?
 Side effects?
 Toxins?
 Allergic reactions?
 Actual freshness/nutritional value vs.
appearance?
 Trace back?

What Do the Critics Say?
Will cross-pollination lead to
contamination of “genetically natural
crops”?
 Will this lead to antibiotic resistant
bacteria?
 Since GE crops manufacture pesticides,
does this mean there are more
pesticides in our food supply?

Media Influence
TV
 Newspapers
 Radio
 Magazines
 Internet
 Etc

Protester Sign

“The fair question is, if the EPA missed
the monarch butterfly, what else did it
miss?”

Margaret Mellon, Environmental Scientist,
Union of Concerned Scientists
“Genetic engineering is about scientists
altering the 'recipes' for making life - the
genes which you find in all living things.
Doing this is very clever and could be very
useful. But it's all happening much too fast
and nobody knows what the effects of
making and eating such living things will be.
Many kinds of life could be damaged…
“And suppose people eat
'genetic' food for many
years? Will they be harmed
by it? Nobody knows for
sure. So why the rush?”
http://www.oneworld.org/penguin/genetics/home.html
Committee recommends labeling, stricter controls
on biotech food Washington (AP)
A committee formed by the United States and the
European Union recommended tighter controls
Monday on genetically engineered foods, including
mandatory labeling of products that contain biotech
ingredients. Agricultural biotechnology holds the
potential to provide new tools for farmers in
developing countries to increase yields, produce crops
resistant to drought, salinity, pests and diseases, and
produce new crop products of greater nutritional
value," said the 20-member panel, which included
scientists, farmers, consumer advocates and industry
officials. But it also said new biotech products should
not be allowed on the market until they have gone
through a mandatory government approval process.
“It is only natural that we cringe
at the artificial… it’s no real wonder
that many people are feeling
uncomfortable about the recent
proliferation of genetically
engineered crops.” K.C. Cole, LA Times
Increasing Consumer
Awareness

Monsanto’s Attempt in Britain
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Ran pro-GMO advertisements
Ads were criticized as patronizing
Public resistance to GMOs in Britain
increased after the campaign
“It has become a Monsanto-hate thing… it
isn’t anti-American; it is anti-overzealous
corporations.” John Vidal, editor, Guardian
What Does the
Scientific/Regulatory
Community Say?
American Medical Association

“policy of the AMA to endorse or
implement programs that will convince
the public and government officials that
genetic manipulation is not inherently
hazardous and that the health and
economic benefits of recombinant DNA
technology greatly exceed any risk
posed to society…”
Policy Position H-480.985
Food and Drug Administration

“… (these new foods) will be every bit
as safe as the foods now on store
shelves. All foods, whether traditionally
bred or genetically engineered, must
meet the provisions of the Federal
Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.”
FDA Consumer, 1998
American Dietetic Association,
1994

“Biotechnology techniques have the
potential to be useful in enhancing the
quality, nutritional value, and variety of
food available for human consumption
and in increasing the efficiency of food
production, food processing, food
distribution and waste management.”
Institute of Food Technologists

“More than a decade of safety
evaluation and introduction of
genetically engineered plants has
provided evidence and assurance that
the risks to the environment posed by
genetically engineered plants are no
different from those of plants
genetically modified using other
methods.”
James Watson, PhD,
Nobel Laureate and
co-discoverer of DNA

“I have absolutely no anxiety… I am
worried about a lot of things but not
about modified food. To argue that you
don’t know what is going to occur is
true about everything in life. People
wouldn’t get married, have children, do
anything…”
Daily Telegraph, U.K. – Feb. 25, 1999.
What Do Consumers Say?
U.S. Consumer Attitudes
toward Biotechnology
1000 telephone interviews
 Conducted in March 1997, February
1999 and May 2000
 Wirthlin Group Quorum Surveys
 http://ificinfo.health.org/

Percent
Have you heard or read about biotechnology?
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes
1997
1999
2000
2001
On a 10-point scale, how
informed are you about
biotechnology? (2001)
 0 = not at all informed
 10 - 3%
9
- 2%
8
- 7%
7
- 6%
6
- 6%
Rating knowledge (cont.)
5
4
3
2
1
-
15%
9%
15%
9%
15%
As far as you know, are there any foods produced
through biotechnology in the supermarket now?
100
Percent
80
60
Yes
40
20
0
1997
1999
2000
2001
Awareness of Foods Produced
through Biotechnology (2000)
 Vegetables
– 45%
 Tomatoes – 27%
 Corn – 18%
 Fruits – 17%
 Meats – 16%
How likely would you be to buy a variety of produce,
like tomatoes or potatoes, if it had been modified by
biotechnology to taste better or fresher?
100
Percent
80
60
likely
40
20
0
1997
1999
2000
2001
How likely would you be to buy a variety of produce,
like tomatoes or potatoes, if it had been modified by
biotechnology to be protected from insect damage
and required fewer pesticide applications?
100
Percent
80
60
likely
40
20
0
1997
1999
2000
2001
Biotechnology can enhance plants that yield foods
like cooking oils. Would this have a positive effect,
negative effect or no effect on your buying
decisions?
100
Percent
80
60
positive effect
40
20
0
1999
2000
2001
Percent
Do you feel that biotechnology will provide benefits
for you or your family within the next five years?
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes
1997
1999
2000
2001
The US FDA requires special labeling when a food is
produced under certain conditions: when biotech's
use introduces an allergen or when it substantially
changes the food's nutritional content, like vitamins,
fat, or its composition. Do you support this?
Percent
100
80
60
Yes
40
20
0
1997
1999
2000
2001
The US FDA requires special labeling when a food is
produced under certain conditions: when biotech's use
introduces an allergen or when it substantially changes the
food's nutritional content, like vitamins, fat, or its
composition. Do you support this?
100
Percent
80
60
Yes
40
20
0
1997
1999
2000
2001
It would be better for food manufacturers , the
government, health professionals and others to provide
more details through toll-free phone numbers,
brochures and websites.
strongly agree 99
100
80
60
40
20
0
strongly agree 00
somew hat agree 99
strongly
disagree
somewhat
disagree
somewhat
agree 99
strongly
agree 99
somew hat agree 00
somew hat disagree 99
somew hat disagree 00
strongly disagree 99
strongly disagree 00
During the past few months, have you taken any
action or done anything because of any concerns you
may have about foods produced using
biotechnology?
Percent
100
80
60
Yes
40
20
0
2001
What are you concerned about
when it comes to food safety?
Packaging – 27%
 Food handling/preparation – 23%
 Other – 19%
 Disease/contamination – 16%
 Chemicals/pesticides in food – 10%
 Altered/engineered food – 2%
 Nothing – 9%

Biotechnology
Political and social issue
 Benefits and risks
 More acceptable in changing plants
than changing animals
 Consumers need more exposure to
biotechnology issues and practices to
be able to evaluate and make decisions

“I think somebody should come up with
a way to breed a very large shrimp.
That way, you could ride him, then,
after you camped at night, you eat him.
How about it, science?
Jack Handey
Where Do We Go from Here?