29 September 2002
RE: 'SUPPORT FOR FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDS IN THE U.S.'
Last week we drew attention to a press release from the International Food Information Council touting continuing US consumer support for GE foods:
"American consumer support for food biotechnology is holding steady, while specific benefits are resonating even more in the latest survey conducted for the International Food Information Council"
We noted that IFIC's annually conducted PR media fest on this issue is based on surveys including such unbiased questions as whether consumers would be more or less likely to buy foods "modified by biotechnology to taste better or fresher" or "enhanced through biotechnology to be protected from insect damage and require fewer pesticide applications".
We also noted that in a footnote to their press release this U.S. "communications organization" noted that, "IFIC is supported primarily by the broad-based food, beverage and agricultural industries."
Precisely who these supporters are was not specified and a visit to the IFIC website also failed to reveal its funders. But an NGINeer has now forwarded us a PDF of a power point presentation in which the head of the IFIC spells out, for the likes of the Food and Consumer Products Manufacturers of Canada, just who its funders are.
The full list is reproduced below and hey, wouldn't you know it, in addition to the usual food/beverage suspects (Nestle, Unilever et al), the list includes MONSANTO, not to mention Aventis, BASF, Cargill, Dow, DuPont, and Syngenta.
Our industrious NGINeer comments, 'looks like we have "big biotech" doing a "big tobacco" -- hiding their own soapbox at the back of everyone else's.'
2002 IFIC Supporters
* A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company
* Ajinomoto U. S. A., Inc.
* Archer Daniels Midland Company
* Aventis CropScience
* BASF
* Burger King Corporation
* Cargill, Incorporated
* The Coca- Cola Company
* Danisco- Cultor
* The Dannon Company, Inc.
* Dow AgroSciences, LLC
* DuPont Agricultural Products
* Jack In The Box, Inc.
* Frito- Lay, Inc.
* General Mills, Inc.
* Gerber Products Company
* Hershey Foods Corporation
* H. J. Heinz Company
* Keebler Company
* A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company
* Ajinomoto U. S. A., Inc.
* Archer Daniels Midland Company
* Aventis CropScience
* BASF
* Burger King Corporation
* Cargill, Incorporated
* The Coca- Cola Company
* Danisco- Cultor
* The Dannon Company, Inc.
* Dow AgroSciences, LLC
* DuPont Agricultural Products
* Jack In The Box, Inc.
* Frito-Lay, Inc.
* General Mills, Inc.
* Gerber Products Company
* Hershey Foods Corporation
* H. J. Heinz Company
* Keebler Company
* Kellogg USA, Inc.
* Kraft Foods
* M& M/ Mars
* McDonald’s Corporation
* McNeil Nutritionals
* Mead Johnson Nutritionals
* Merisant
* Monsanto Company
* The Pepsi- Cola Company
* Nestle USA, Inc.
* Nutrinova, Inc.
* Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.
* Taco Bell Corporation
* The Procter & Gamble Company
* Ross Products Division/ Abbott Laboratories
* Sara Lee Corporation
* Syngenta
* Unilever * Kellogg USA, Inc.
* Kraft Foods
* M& M/ Mars
* McDonald‚s Corporation
* McNeil Nutritionals
* Mead Johnson Nutritionals
* Merisant
* Monsanto Company
* The Pepsi- Cola Company
* Nestle USA, Inc.
* Nutrinova, Inc.
* Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.
* Taco Bell Corporation
* The Procter & Gamble Company
* Ross Products Division/ Abbott Laboratories
* Sara Lee Corporation
* Syngenta
* Unilever Bestfoods
The IFIC presentation this list comes from can be found at:
http://www.fcpmc.com/english/events/presentations/
For a PDF/3.7 MB download select:
CFIC-FCPMC Obesity Seminar, June 25, 2002
Sylvia Rowe
IFIC
The American Obesity Experience: IFIC Strategies
***
Norfolk Genetic Information Network (ngin),
http://www.ngin.org.uk
---
The press release below which tells us that, 'Support for food
biotechnology holds in the U.S.' reports the results from the latest
annual survey of the International Food Information Council. But you'll
have to read down to a footnote to discover that, "IFIC is supported
primarily by the broad-based food, beverage and agricultural
industries." Precisely who those supporters are is not specified.
The press release also fails to tell you that the surveys were
devised for the IFIC by Dr Thomas Hoban, Professor of Sociology
and Food Science at North Carolina State University and a rabid
supporter of genetic engineering. Hoban is listed by CS Prakash
as an AgBioWorld expert. [http://www.agbioworld.org/biotech_info/experts/experts.html]
Hoban's publications include such gems as, "Biotechnology is
Here to Stay: American retailers need not worry about consumer
acceptance of foods produced with modern biotechnology", and
an outreach videotape, "Biotechnology: It's Role in Your Future".
[http://www4.ncsu.edu:8030/~hobantj/]
The IFIC press release also fails to mention just how loaded
Hoban's survey questions are. Questions like:
"All things being equal, how likely would you be to buy a variety
of produce, like tomatoes or potatoes, if it had been modified
by biotechnology to taste better or fresher?"
"Biotechnology has also been used to enhance plants that yield
foods like cooking oils. If cooking oil with reduced saturated
fat made from these new plants was available, what effect would
the use of biotechnology have on your decision to buy this
cooking oil." [U.S. Consumer Attitudes Toward Food Biotechnology
Survey: http://ific.org/relatives/17860.pdf]
According to Karen Charman in a PR Watch article on Hoban and
his slanted IFIC surveys:
'James Beniger, a communications professor at the University
of Southern California and past president of the American Association
for Public Opinion Research, reviewed the IFIC survey and said
it is so biased with leading questions favoring positive responses
that any results are meaningless. UCLA communications professor
Michael Suman agreed, adding that the questions "only talk
about the food tasting better, being fresher, protecting food
from insect damage, reducing saturated fat and providing benefits.
It's like saying 'Here's biotechnology, it does these great
things for you, do you like it?'" The results might be different,
Suman offers, if it contained questions biased in the other
direction such as: "Some people contend that some foods produced from
biotechnology cause higher rates of cancer. If that is so, what effect
would that have on your buying decision?" ' [The Professor
Who Can Read Your Mind by Karen Charman in PR Watch Vol. 6,
No. 4 / Fourth Quarter 1999
http://www.prwatch.org/99-Q4/hoban.html#start]
---
http://ific.org/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=19981&PROACTIVE_ID=cecfcfc6cbc7cdcacac5cecfcfcfc5cecfc6c9cfcdcbc8cdcec5cf
SUPPORT FOR FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDS IN THE U.S.
September 23, 2002
IFIC
American consumer support for food biotechnology is holding steady,
while specific benefits are resonating even more in the latest survey conducted
for the International Food Information Council by Cogent Research in August
2002.
Nearly three quarters (71% vs. 65% in 2001) of the US population said
they would be likely to buy produce that had been enhanced
through biotechnology to be protected from insect damage and
require fewer pesticide applications.
In addition, more than half of American consumers (54%) would be likely
to purchase the same produce if it had been enhanced to taste
better or fresher, a number that has remained stable since
October 1999. Most (61%) of consumers still expect to benefit
from biotechnology over the next five years. Of those expecting benefits,
41% look to improved quality, taste, and variety, 39% cite the area of
health and nutrition, and 20% expect biotech to reduce levels
of chemicals and pesticides in food production.
Overall awareness of biotechnology remains high, with 72% of Americans
stating they have read or heard information about the issue, and nearly
half of consumers (48%) have heard about a new area of biotechnology
called plant-made pharmaceuticals.
A majority (59%) of Americans support the FDA's labeling policy-which
requires disclosure on a food label only if biotechnology introduces an
allergen or substantially changes the food's nutritional content. Also,
when asked what information they would like to see added to food labels,
78% of consumers said "nothing" and just 1% cited information
related to biotech ingredients.
The survey was conducted in August 2002 by Cogent Research of Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Telephone surveys of 1001 US adults age 18 and over were
completed, and the attached results are representative of the US population.
###
International Food Information Council (IFIC) is a nonprofit
organization that communicates sound science-based information on food
safety and nutrition topics to health professionals, journalists,
government officials and consumers. IFIC programs are supported by the
broad-based food, beverage and agriculture industries. IFIC materials can
be found online at http://ific.org.
---
The press release below which tells us that, 'Support for food biotechnology
holds in the U.S.' reports the results from the latest annual survey of
the International Food Information Council. But you'll have to read down
to a footnote to discover that, "IFIC is supported primarily by the broad-based
food, beverage and agricultural industries." Precisely who those supporters
are is not specified.
The press release also fails to tell you that the surveys were devised
for the IFIC by Dr Thomas Hoban, Professor of Sociology and Food Science
at North Carolina State University and a rabid supporter of genetic engineering.
Hoban is listed by CS Prakash as an AgBioWorld expert.
[http://www.agbioworld.org/biotech_info/experts/experts.html]
Hoban's publications include such gems as, "Biotechnology is Here to Stay: American retailers need not worry about consumer acceptance of foods produced with modern biotechnology", and an outreach videotape, "Biotechnology: It's Role in Your Future". [http://www4.ncsu.edu:8030/~hobantj/]
The IFIC press release also fails to mention just how loaded Hoban's survey questions are. Questions like:
"All things being equal, how likely would you be to buy a variety of produce, like tomatoes or potatoes, if it had been modified by biotechnology to taste better or fresher?"
"Biotechnology has also been used to enhance plants that yield foods like cooking oils. If cooking oil with reduced saturated fat made from these new plants was available, what effect would the use of biotechnology have on your decision to buy this cooking oil." [U.S. Consumer Attitudes Toward Food Biotechnology Survey: http://ific.org/relatives/17860.pdf]
According to Karen Charman in a PR Watch article on Hoban and his slanted IFIC surveys:
'James Beniger, a communications professor at the University of Southern
California and past president of the American Association for Public Opinion
Research, reviewed the IFIC survey and said it is so biased with leading
questions favoring positive responses that any results are meaningless.
UCLA communications professor Michael Suman agreed, adding that the questions
"only talk about the food tasting better, being fresher, protecting food
from insect damage, reducing saturated fat and providing benefits. It's
like saying 'Here's biotechnology, it does these great things for you,
do you like it?'" The results might be different, Suman offers, if it contained
questions biased in the other direction such as: "Some people contend that
some foods produced from biotechnology cause higher rates of cancer. If
that is so, what effect would that have on your buying decision?" ' [The
Professor Who Can Read Your Mind by Karen Charman in PR Watch Vol. 6, No.
4 / Fourth Quarter 1999
http://www.prwatch.org/99-Q4/hoban.html#start]
---
http://ific.org/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=19981&PROACTIVE_ID=cecfcfc6cbc7cdcacac5cecfcfcfc5cecfc6c9cfcdcbc8cdcec5cf
SUPPORT FOR FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDS IN THE U.S.
September 23, 2002
IFIC
American consumer support for food biotechnology is holding steady, while specific benefits are resonating even more in the latest survey conducted for the International Food Information Council by Cogent Research in August 2002.
Nearly three quarters (71% vs. 65% in 2001) of the US population said they would be likely to buy produce that had been enhanced through biotechnology to be protected from insect damage and require fewer pesticide applications.
In addition, more than half of American consumers (54%) would be likely to purchase the same produce if it had been enhanced to taste better or fresher, a number that has remained stable since October 1999. Most (61%) of consumers still expect to benefit from biotechnology over the next five years. Of those expecting benefits, 41% look to improved quality, taste, and variety, 39% cite the area of health and nutrition, and 20% expect biotech to reduce levels of chemicals and pesticides in food production.
Overall awareness of biotechnology remains high, with 72% of Americans stating they have read or heard information about the issue, and nearly half of consumers (48%) have heard about a new area of biotechnology called plant-made pharmaceuticals.
A majority (59%) of Americans support the FDA's labeling policy-which requires disclosure on a food label only if biotechnology introduces an allergen or substantially changes the food's nutritional content. Also, when asked what information they would like to see added to food labels, 78% of consumers said "nothing" and just 1% cited information related to biotech ingredients.
The survey was conducted in August 2002 by Cogent Research of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Telephone surveys of 1001 US adults age 18 and over were completed, and the attached results are representative of the US population.
###
International Food Information Council (IFIC) is a nonprofit organization that communicates sound science-based information on food safety and nutrition topics to health professionals, journalists, government officials and consumers. IFIC programs are supported by the broad-based food, beverage and agriculture industries. IFIC materials can be found online at http://ific.org.