USDA Funds Grant to Research Marketing GM Foods Better

[Guest guest]

The USDA funded this grant to research how to market GM foods

better... Does anyone else have a problem with this????

Be Well,

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

Genetically Engineered foods accepted in US Survey-Food

less nutritious

 

The following story simply amazes me. The problems and dangers of

genetically engineered plants and animals (and mixtures thereof) to

produce " efficient handling and long shelf life " is very dangerous.

The problems are without end including the spread of these

Frankenstein like plants that will readily crowd out natural plants.

 

While I have little regard for most of Europe they, at least, are

fighting the spread of GM foods. While our giant agricultural

companies are marketing these engineered foods and dangerous foods,

like highly promoted soy products, much of it on the sly so that you

do not even know you are eating it.

 

The real problem is that the true value of our food supply is

dwindling. In many cases you would have to eat as much as 30% more

food to get the same number of vitamins and minerals that the

vegetables and fruits would have contained just a decade ago. You

would find it hard to believe how much the vitamin and mineral

content of food has declined over the last fifty years.

 

What we need to improve our methods of farming and husbandry, not

get involved with making engineering plastic presentation foods. The

following story tells you how much progress GM is making and says

absolutley nothing about the dangers of GM or genetically engineered

foods --- that tells you clearly where the industry is headed.

Source materials are at the conclusion of the article.

Regards, Terry

 

" ... To sell GM foods to consumers, stress the benefits

 

 

Most Americans don't know they are eating genetically modified (GM)

foods, although consumer awareness of GM foods is growing. Those are

some of the findings from a nationwide telephone survey of 1,200

randomly selected Americans, released today by the Food Policy

Institute at Rutgers' Cook College. The study also found that the

way to improve the chance that consumers will embrace GM foods may

be to stress the environmental benefits and make the resulting foods

more attractive to consumers.

 

The study found about half of the respondents (52%) were aware

genetically modified food products are currently for sale in

supermarkets, an increase since 2001 when a similar FPI study found

only 41% of respondents were aware of them. Just 26% of Americans

believe they have ever eaten GM foods.

 

When asked directly, 49% of Americans report that they approve of

plant-based GM foods, down 9% from 2001. About one quarter (27%)

approve of animal-based GM foods, unchanged from 2001.

 

The study found, however, that simply mentioning potential benefits

of GM foods significantly increased approval ratings. For example,

of those who disapproved of plant-based GM food products, 30% said

they would purchase a GM product if it contained less fat and 24%

said they'd buy it if it tasted better than ordinary food.

 

Consumers also said they favor GM foods that offer environmental

benefits; a third (31%) of those who initially disapproved of plant-

based GM food products said they would be willing to buy a GM

product grown in a more environmentally friendly way than ordinary

food. Almost half (44%) of those who initially disapproved of plant-

based GM food products said they would be willing to purchase them

if they contained less pesticide residue than ordinary food.

Reduction in pesticide use is one of the main benefits conferred by

some of the existing GM corn and cotton crops that are already

widely planted.

 

Lower prices, interestingly, were not a selling point for GM foods.

Only 12% of those who initially disapproved of plant-based GM

technology said they would buy GM foods if they were cheaper than

ordinary foods.

 

Another interesting finding is that early in the interviews, before

the issue of genetic modification was raised, respondents were asked

to say in their own words what information they would like to see on

food labels. Almost no one said they would like to see labels

contain information about whether the food has GM ingredients (less

than 1%), FPI reports. Yet, later, when asked directly if they would

like to see GM food labels, the overwhelming majority of Americans

(94%) said that they would.

 

Americans' basic knowledge about farming and food production was

also found to be low. Only about half (55%) of Americans know that

most of the corn grown in the US is used to feed animals such as

cows, less than half (46%) recognize that sugar is not the sweetener

used in most processed foods, and 16% incorrectly believe that

peanuts grow on trees.

 

The study was funded by a grant from USDA under the Initiative for

Future Agriculture and Food Systems Program (IFAFS). Copies can be

downloaded for free at the Food Policy Institute Web site:

www.foodpolicyinstitute.org 10/15/2003 07:04 a.m.CDT ... "

 

see also

http://www.agriculture.com/default.sph/AgNews.class?

FNC=goDetail__ANewsindex_html___50735___1