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Biotechnology in Food: Canadian Attitudes towards Genetic Engineering in both Plant- and Animal-based Foods Sylvain Charlebois (Lead Author)Sylvain.Charlebois@dal.caCaitlin CunninghamCaitlin.Cunningham@dal.caJanet MusicJanet.Music@dal.caSimon SomogyiSimon.Somogyi@dal.ca 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
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
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)Sylvain.Charlebois@dal.caCaitlin CunninghamCaitlin.Cunningham@dal.caJanet MusicJanet.Music@dal.caSimon SomogyiSimon.Somogyi@dal.ca May 24, 2018
Preliminary Results (more results available on request)