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News Release
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For Immediate Release:
October 23, 2008
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Contact:
Karen Batra, 202-449-6382, kbatra@bio.org
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Livestock Cloning Acceptance Steadily on the Rise, Shows Prestigious Annual Tracking Poll
Willingness to Buy Up 12%; Acceptance Up 6% Unfavorable Opinion Down 13%
For the third year in a row, a prestigious annual tracking poll shows that Americans are becoming increasingly comfortable with the idea of livestock cloning. The International Food Information Council's "Food Biotechnology: A Study of U.S. Consumer Attitudinal Trends" found that acceptability and willingness to buy were both up, and disfavor was down. This reflects a trend toward acceptance every year that questions have been asked about cloning since 2005.
These data follow predictions made by academics in 2006. "...while most Americans express an opinion about animal cloning when asked to do so, their opinions are relatively 'uncrystallized.' ... Therefore, it is likely that these opinions are subject to change..." said a paper written by Dr. William Hallman, Director of Rutgers University’s Food Policy Institute.
"Attitudes about the use of animal cloning for breeding livestock have been soft since we started measuring this in 2004," said Dr. Mark Richards of KRC Research, who has closely studied the issue. "Public acceptance of animal cloning can vary widely depending on what they hear and learn about it. The IFIC poll found that 48 percent of consumers now say they're likely to buy food derived from cloned animals—up from 34 percent in 2005. That's a dramatic 14 point increase in a short time, which indicates that even before the technology has been widely introduced into the food supply, people are becoming more comfortable with it."
Quoting directly from the IFIC survey:
"The poll showed that the majority of Americans (55 percent) have neutral impressions of animal biotechnology. Potential benefits of animal biotechnology have a positive impact on their impressions.
"Although many Americans (45 percent) continue to hold 'not favorable' impressions of cloning, this number has decreased relative to 2005 (58 percent). Meanwhile, consumers holding 'neutral' impressions (33 percent) and 'favorable' impressions (23 percent) have increased relative to 2005. Since fielding the 2007 survey, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed its risk assessment on animal cloning, concluding meat and milk from cow, pig and goat clones and their offspring are safe. The percentage of consumers 'likely' to purchase meat and milk from cloned animals given the FDA’s safety determination has increased to 48 percent in 2008 from 36 percent in 2005, when the question was asked hypothetically. Meanwhile the percentage of those 'not at all likely' has decreased to 26 percent in 2008 from 35 percent in 2005.
"A similar softening of impressions can be seen with foods from genetically engineered animals. Genetic engineering was defined as a form of animal biotechnology that allows us to move beneficial traits from one animal to another in a precise way. Significantly more Americans (38 percent) reported neutral impressions of genetic engineering than in 2006 (31 percent).
"Additionally, those not at all favorable have decreased from 19 percent in 2005 to 11 percent in 2008. Overall, 34 percent of Americans hold favorable impressions of genetic engineering and 34 percent are not favorable. When asked hypothetically, if the FDA determined meat and milk from genetically engineered animals were safe, how likely they would be to purchase these products, 65 percent said they would be likely and 35 percent said they would not be likely."
Methodology
The International Food Information Council commissioned Cogent Research to conduct the 13th in a series of quantitative assessments of consumer attitudes toward food biotechnology. One thousand adults living in the U.S. were surveyed from July 29th through August 18th, 2008. The survey data were weighted against the latest U.S. Census projections on education and marital status to ensure the final results were nationally representative.
About BIO
BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.
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