GMO Answers Invites Consumers to Join Online Conversation— GMOs—are a major topic of discussion today. Across our society, media and the Internet, a growing number of people have shared a wide range of questions and emotions on the topic—ranging from excitement and optimism to skepticism and even fear.
April marks more than eight months since the launch of GMO Answers, a central online resource for information on GMOs and how our food is grown. The agricultural biotechnology companies that created GMO Answers encourage consumers to visit the website and join the online conversation at www.GMOAnswers.com.
GMO Answers is produced by the members of The Council for Biotechnology Information, which includes BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences LLC, DuPont, Monsanto Company and Syngenta.
“GMO Answers gives consumers an opportunity to ask questions about GMOs and get answers from the very people who grow our food, and research and promote its health and safety—farmers, scientists, health experts, nutritionists and others,” said Dr. Cathleen Enright, executive vice president of the food and agriculture section in the Biotechnology Industry Organization and spokesperson for GMO Answers. “And consumers are responding to our initiative. So far, visitors have submitted more than 1,000 questions on topics ranging from human health and environmental impact to labeling. We look forward to answering more questions and giving consumers the facts about the food they eat.”
GMO Answers launched in July 2013 and used GMO Awareness Month in October to build on that momentum.
Recently, GMO Answers commissioned an online, national survey with general consumers and a subset of food-engaged consumers to find out what they know and what they want to know. Respondents self-identified as being interested in issues such as food sourcing, environmental footprint and GMOs. While the survey found that many are concerned about GMO use on farms, it was clear that consumers have a growing desire for more information about what GMOs really are and how they’re used. Specifically, the survey found that: Almost half (49 percent) of respondents said they would not be able to define what a GMO is, if asked.
Only eight GM crops are commercially available in the U.S. today (corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, alfalfa, sugarbeets, papaya, and squash), but 83 percent of respondents said they thought there were 10 or more.
While 58 percent of respondents do worry that food produced with GMOs is less safe than other types of food, 60 percent still believe that GMO foods are at least as nutritious as non-GMO alternatives.