Biotechnology in Food: Canadian Attitudes towards Genetic Engineering … · 2019-04-28 · Biotechnology in Food: Canadian Attitudes towards Genetic Engineering in both Plant- and

Biotechnology in Food: Canadian Attitudes towards Genetic Engineering in both Plant- and Animal-based Foods Sylvain Charlebois (Lead Author)[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] May 24, 2018

Preliminary Results (more results available on request)

HighlightsoftheStudy(1)

1. Confusion:MostCanadiansareconfused aboutsafety,healtheffectsofGeneticallyModified (GM) foodsandingredients, donotperceivebenefits fortheconsumer.Mostconsumersunsureiftheyhavebought aGMfoodproduct,oronewithaGMingredient;

2. Regionaldifferences:Quebecmostconcernedabout safetyofGMfoods/ingredients, Prairiesareleastconcerned;

3. Labelling:Canadiansoverwhelminglysupportive ofmandatory labelling,butnotnecessarily justforfoodsafetyreasons.Price appearstobeseenasasignificantdifferentiation factorshouldmandatory labellingpolicybeimplemented.

HighlightsoftheStudy(2)

1. Foodcategories:CanadiansmoreconcernedaboutGMfishandseafoodthananyothercategory.

2. Animal-basedGMproductsappeartoconcernCanadiansmore thanplant-basedGMfoods/ingredients;

3. Age:Theolder therespondent, thelesslikely s/hebelievesGMlabellingregulationsaresufficient inCanada;

4. Age:Older respondents arelesslikely tobelievetesting issufficient inCanada;

5. Income,marital status andeducationarenotsignificantdeterminants oftrustinGMfoods;

6. Men aremorelikely thanwomentobelieveGMfood/ingredients aresafetoeat,andthatlabelling regulationsaresufficient.

• Aimofsurvey:TomeasureCanadianattitudestowardsgeneticengineeringinfood,forbothplant-basedandlivestock,assesstrusttowardsfoodsafetyandoverallregulatorysysteminCanada;• Respondentswereinformedaboutgeneticengineeringinfoodbeforesurvey,inuncomplicatedterms;• Surveyduration:3days,May2018;• Samplesize:n=1046.

SurveyPerformance(1)

SurveyPerformance(2)• Bilingual survey,cross-Canadastudy(includingQuébec);• Respondentswererequiredtobe18yearsoldandlivinginCanadaforatleast12months;• Completionrate:97%;• Averagedurationofsurvey:5.2minutes;• Sampling:Convenience,representativesampleforCanadianmarket;• Estimatedmarginoferror:3.1%,19timesoutof20(notsameparametersasonlinesurveys)

Geneticallymodified (orengineered)ingredients andfoodsaresafetoeat.

Mixedresults:While37.7%ofCanadians believeGMfoodstobe

safe,34.7%donot

Perceivedasunsafe,byRegion(1):

Quebec(48%)BritishColumbia (39%)AtlanticCanada(33%)Ontario(30%)Prairies(26%)

(1)Marginoferrormayvary,both“SomewhatDisagree”and“StronglyDisagree”combined

There isaclearunderstandingofthehealtheffectsofgenetically modified (orengineered)foods.

Moremixedresults:Canadiansappeartobeconfusedbygeneticengineering infood.Whilealmost35%believeweunderstandhealtheffects,morethan44%believewe

donotunderstandthem

Beforetheyreachtheconsumer, geneticallymodified (orengineered) foodsundergothoroughtestingandstudy.

Paradox:Despiteconfusion,majority(56.3%)ofCanadiansbelieve testing is

sufficient

Currently, enough testingisdoneongeneticallymodified foodstoensuretheirsafetybeforetheyreachconsumers inCanada.

ThoughthemajorityofCanadians believetestingofGMfoodsisthorough,theygavemixedresultswhenaskedabouttestingtoprotectthesafety for

consumers.

Geneticallymodified (orengineered) plant-basedfoods(i.e.fruits,vegetables, grains)arecurrentlysoldinCanada.

Itisestimatedthatmorethan75%ofallfood

productssoldinCanadacontainatleastoneGM

ingredient

Geneticallymodified (orengineered) animal-basedfoods(i.epoultry, seafood,beef) arecurrentlysoldinCanada.

Somevariancebetweenplant-basedfoodsand

livestock

Ihavepurchasedgenetically modified (orengineered) plant-based food.

Ihavepurchasedgenetically modified (orengineered) animal-based food.

Voluntary labelling ofgenetically modifiedfoods/ingredients issufficient.

MajorityofCanadiansbelievevoluntary

labelingisinsufficient

ByAgeGroup(1):75plus(81%)From65to74(78%)From55to64(72%)From45to54(65%)From35to44(55%)From25to34(42%)From18to24(27%)

(1)Marginoferrormayvary,both“SomewhatDisagree”and“StronglyDisagree”combined

Allgeneticallymodified foods/ingredientsshouldbeclearly labelled assuchonfoodpackages.

SupportformandatoryGMlabelling,byRegion(1):

BritishColumbia (91%)Quebec(90%)AtlanticCanada(89%)Ontario(88%)Prairies(85%)

(1)Marginoferrormayvary,both“SomewhatAgree”and“StronglyAgree”combined

Ifavailable,anddeemedbyHealthCanadaassafe,howlikelyareyoutopurchasegeneticallymodifiedfoodsfromthefollowingcategories:FishandSeafood?

Lowestlevelamongstfoodcategories

FruitsandVegetables?

Highestlevelamongstfoodcategories

Dairy?

MoreCanadianswillpurchaseGMdairyproductsthannot

Beef?

CanadiansevenlydividedaboutpurchasingGM

beef

Poultry?

MoreCanadianswillpurchaseGMpoultryproductsthannot

Pork?

Canadiansgenerallymoreconcernedabout(inorder):

1) FishandSeafood2) Pork3) Beef4) Poultry5) Dairy6) FruitsandVegetables

(1)Both“Unlikely”and“VeryUnlikely”combined

Consumers considermanyfactorswhenshoppingforfood.Fromthelistbelow,please chooseupto3considerations thatareimportanttoyouwhenpurchasingfood(GMorNon-GM).

Pricemostimportantfactor

Non-GMO

Demographics: Non-GMOhasadecision factor

19%

24%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Male Female

ActivelyLookingforNon-GMOFoodProductsByGender

(DalhousieUniversity,2018)

16%18% 18%

21%

27%

24%22%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

18- 24yearsofage

25- 34yearsofage

35- 44yearsofage

45- 54yearsofage

55- 64yearsofage

65- 74yearsofage

75+yearsofage

ActivelyLookingforNon-GMOFoodProductsByAgeGroup

(DalhousieUniversity,2018)

(1)Moredemographicresultsavailableondemand

Biotechnology in Food: Canadian Attitudes towards Genetic Engineering in both Plant- and Animal-based Foods Sylvain Charlebois (Lead Author)[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] May 24, 2018

Preliminary Results (more results available on request)