Expansionary Institute

Most consumers not hostile to GMO food -French study

Most consumers not hostile to GMO food -French study

PARIS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Two-thirds of consumers would not be averse to foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) if items were clearly labelled and carried a GMO logo, according to a French study published this week.

The study, by agricultural research institute INRA, points to a gap between the hostility expressed in French public opinion towards transgenic crops and individual purchasing behaviour.

"Are consumers prepared to buy products with a GMO logo? The response is 'yes' for many. Only 35 percent refuse these products," INRA said in the study.

"Two-thirds of consumers accept GMOs and are prepared to buy them, and one third boycott them," Bernard Ruffieux, a researcher who led the study, told Reuters.

He added that consumers were more accepting of gene-altered products as long when they were given information.

The researchers said consumers saw the launch of the first generation of GMOs as "deceitful and forced," which caused initial acceptance of the products to founder.

They said future debates over gene-altered products should focus on the possibility of selections of GMO food instead of non-GMO food.

The study argued that industry players should drop efforts to create lines of non-GMO food, noting that most French consumers were unaware of rules governing labelling and so already consumed GMO products -- often without knowing it.

They cited cereal bars, vegetable oils and products containing starch as examples of foods containing GMOs that were widely consumed.

The study said non-GMO food lines were "technically deceptive," and it criticised the EU's recent rules on GMO food products as possibly inefficient and costly.

Under those regulations, products with any ingredient containing more than one percent of gene-altered material have to be labelled as containing GMOs.

09:53 12-01-00

Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Sat Dec 2