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In July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Bill to block states from mandating labelling of genetically modified foods. At its root is a fear that such labels will be seen as ‘warnings’ by consumers and will adversely affect purchase behaviour. But data from a new study suggests this concern may be unfounded.
The study, presented at the annual conference of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, is based on five years of data (2003, 2004, 2008, 2014 and 2015) and includes 2012 responses to a representative, statewide survey of residents of the US state of Vermont.
The research focuses on the relationship between two primary questions: whether respondents are opposed to GMOs in commercially available food products and if they thought products containing GMOs should be labelled.
The results showed no evidence that attitudes towards GMOs are strengthened in either a positive or negative way due to a desire for labels that indicate the product contains GM ingredients.
Related on the SLP
“When you look at consumer opposition to the use of GM technologies in food and account for the label, we found that overall the label has no direct impact on opposition. And it increased support for GM in some demographic groups,” said Jane Kolodinsky, author of the study. “This was not what I hypothesised… We didn’t find evidence that the labels will work as a warning.”
“We need more evidence to determine which position is correct,” Kolodinsky said at the conference. “When only the label is considered, it has no impact on consumer opposition. And there is some evidence that the label will increase consumer confidence in GM technology among certain groups.”
Read full, original post: Study: GMO labels not viewed as warnings
