GMO Labelling Meaningless As 76% of Americans Unaware of What GMOs Are

MOSCOW, December 22 (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova — The overwhelming majority of Americans are unaware of what is meant precisely by genetically modified food so that GMO labelling will be largely meaningless even if it becomes legally binding, a food and beverage industry analyst with the NPD market research company told the Sputnik news agency on Monday.

“76 percent of adults have little to no awareness of what GMOs [genetically modified organisms] are, so if they see a label pointing to GMOs in the product, they’re likely going to continue using it since the label might be meaningless at first,” Darren Seifer said commenting on the research.

The GMO labelling debate is high on the agenda in the United States, as the January 7, 2015 date for the court hearing over Vermont’s passing of a law making GMO labelling mandatory, looms closer.

The US Grocery Manufacturers Association which unites companies such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, Starbucks and Monsanto, and three other industry groups sued the state of Vermont after it passed a law requiring food companies to label foods containing GMOs in May. The law goes live in 2016, but its opponents hope to stop it coming into force before that happens.

“I feel that should Vermont’s law stand and is allowed to go into effect in 2016, it could have implications around the nation,” NPD’s Darren Seifer told Sputnik. “GMO labeling might be seen on packages in more states than just Vermont since it would not be efficient for manufacturers to print one set of labels for Vermont and another set of labels for the remaining 49 states.”

Though Seifer remains skeptical about the immediate reaction of consumers who know little about genetically modified foods, he expects that in the long run, more consumers will discover why they are causing some people to hesitate before using a product that they know contains GMOs.

“I say this because even though there have been several high profile ballot initiatives that failed in states like California, Oregon, and Colorado, they all brought more attention to the topic of GMOs. As a result, GMOs in food became one of the fastest growing causes for concern among consumers,” Seifer explained.

He added that in 2011, 15 percent of adults were very or extremely concerned that GMOs posed a health hazard and that number grew to 20 percent in 2013.

Maine, Connecticut and Vermont have all passed stand-alone GMO labeling laws. But these laws can only be enacted if a minimum of five neighboring states also pass laws to make GMO labeling mandatory.

Across the world, over 60 countries require manufacturers to label foods containing GMO ingredients.