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Fact Sheet February 2013
Although GM crop varieties now constitute the vast
majority of U.S. corn, coton and soybean production,
3

about half of consumers realize that GM foods are
widely available in supermarkets,
4
especially as ingredi-
ents in processed foods. This indicates that the majority
of Americans regularly consume foods containing GM
ingredients without knowing it.
Most consumers believe that they have a right to know
what they are eating and to get enough information to
make informed choices about the food they purchase.
That is why the overwhelming majority of Americans
say that they are in favor of mandatory GM labeling of
food products:
An ABC News poll conducted in 2001 found that 93
percent of Americans believe the federal government
should require manufacturers to label GM foods.
5

A 2008 CBS/New York Times poll found that more
than half of American consumers would not likely
choose to buy GM foods, and 87 percent wanted all
GM ingredients to be labeled.
6
A 2010 Thomson Reuters survey of consumers also
found 93 percent in support of GM labeling.
7
91 percent of voters polled in a 2012 Mellman Group
study favor the FDA requiring labels on GM foods
or foods containing GM ingredients, and of those, 81
percent strongly favor the labeling proposal.
8

Some biotechnology firms have already developed genet-
ically engineered animals, including those intended for
human consumption such as salmon and hogs.
9
How-
ever, several national surveys report that consumers are
especially concerned about GM meat products:
76 percent of consumers in a 2004 Rutgers Universi-
ty report said they either disapprove of or are unsure
about animal-based GM food products.
10

A 2008 Consumers Union survey found that 95 per-
cent of those polled believe that food products from
GM animals should be labeled.
11
W
hen it comes to labeling genetically modied (GM) foods, the United States lags
behind nearly 50 developed nations, including all European Union member
states, Australia, Brazil, China, |apan, Korea, New Zealand, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
1

The European Union requires all food, animal feeds and processed products with
biotech content to bear GM labels.
2
However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) does not require the labeling of GM food products because the agencys
policy is that GM foods are not dierent from conventional foods. While many
manufacturers voluntarily label foods that do not contain GM ingredients (known as
absence labeling), almost no companies voluntarily label their foods to arm the
use of GM ingredients.
62 percent of consumers in the same Consumers
Union study said that they would not buy milk or
milk products from GM animals, cloned animals or
their ofspring.
12
Only 38 percent of respondents to a 2010 Thomson
Reuters survey said that they would be willing to
eat GM meat, and just 35 percent would eat GM
fish.
13

Despite this widespread consumer concern about GM
meat, the FDA is considering allowing GM salmon to be
sold.
14

It took government regulation to make food processors
put ingredient lists and nutrition facts on food packag-
ing labels that consumers now rely on to make food
choices. But the government has failed to require that
consumers get to know other basic information about
our food, like whether it is genetically engineered.
For more information: htp://www.foodandwaterwatch.
org/food/genetically-engineered-foods
Endnotes
1 U.S. Trade Representative. 2011 Report on Technical Barriers
to Trade. 2011 at 49.
2 European Parliament and Council. Regulation (EC) No.
1829/2003 at Article 12.2.
3 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
Adoption of Bioengineered Crops. Available at http://www.
ers.usda.govlDatalBiotechcropsl and on le at Food & Water
Watch. Accessed |uly 9, 2012.
4 Rutgers University Food Policy nstitute. Americans and CM
Food: Knowledge, Opinion and nterest in 2004. 2004 at 3.
5 ABC News. Broad Skepticism s the Harvest for Cenetically
Modied Foods. |Press release]. |une 20, 2001.
6 CBS News Poll Database. CBS News/New York Times Poll,
Apr. 2008. May 11, 2008 at Q88 and Q89. Available at http:ll
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/12/politics/main3362530.
shtml7tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesArea. Accessed |uly 9, 2012.
7 Thomson Reuters. National Survey of Healthcare Consum-
ers: Cenetically Engineered Food. October 2010 at 3.
8 The Mellman Croup, nc. Support for Mandatory Labeling of
Cenetically Engineered Foods s Nearly Unanimous. March
22, 2012.
9 University of Cuelph. EnviropigTM On le at Food & Water
Watch and available at http:llwww.uoguelph.calenviropigl.
Accessed |uly 9, 2012, AquaBounty Technologies. Press
Room. Available at http:llwww.aquabounty.comlPress-
Rooml. Accessed |uly 9, 2012.
10 Rutgers University Food Policy nstitute, 2004 at 7.
11 Consumer Reports National Research Center. Food-Labeling
Poll 2008. November 11, 2008 at 13.
12 Ibid. at 4.
13 Thomson Reuters, 2010 at 4.
14 AquaBounty Technologies. Annual report and accounts for
the year ended 31 December 2011: Biotechnical solutions for
sustainable aquaculture. 2011 at 2.
For more information:
Rue dEdimbourg 26
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T: +32 (0)2 893 10 45
E: europe@fwwatch.org
www.foodandwatereurope.org
Copyright February 2013 Food & Water Europe