Just Label It Survey: Parents Overwhelmingly Say Label Genetically Engineered Foods

Contact: Violet Batcha
(315) 262-5990, violet@justlabelit.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 

Washington, D.C. (September 10, 2012) – A vast majority of American parents want the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require labeling for foods that have been genetically engineered or contain genetically engineered (GE) ingredients, according to newly released results from a national poll conducted by the Just Label It (JLI) coalition.

“Instinctively, parents want to make informed choices about what they eat and what they serve their children,” said Gary Hirshberg, JLI Chairman and Chairman and Co-Founder of Stonyfield. “But when it comes to genetically engineered foods, parents are left in the dark because the common-sense tool that could help them choose – food labeling – isn’t available to them.”

Ninety percent of mothers and 88 percent of fathers are in favor of labeling GE foods, according to the survey conducted by the Mellman Group.  Additionally, knowing whether the food they purchase and serve their families contains GE ingredients is important to 85 percent of mothers and 80 percent of fathers.

With this strong sentiment, JLI is making a new push to recruit parents to sign a petition asking the FDA to mandate food labeling for GE foods.  As families face a new school year, parents are concerned about how the food their children eat will affect their success in the classroom.   The petition asks parents to join the one million other Americans who have already expressed their support for labeling so that they will be able to know about the food they feed their children.

“As parents, we TRY to pay close attention to what our children eat. Allergies can pose a serious threat and parents deserve not some, but all of the information they need to keep their children and families safe,” said Robyn O’Brien, founder of AllergyKids Foundation and a JLI member.

Hirshberg said parents’ concerns about their children’s food have intensified following controversies involving pink slime, corn resistant to the toxic 2,4-D herbicide, and apples genetically engineered to prevent browning and that they are calling  on the U.S. to join the 40 other developed nations that require labeling of GE foods.  Those nations include European Union members, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Brazil and China.

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