U.S. consumers remain polarized when it comes to GM foods

Americans have mixed views about genetically modified (GM) foods and their implications for society. According to a Pew Research Center survey, about half (51%) of U.S. adults think GM foods are worse for people’s health than foods with no GM ingredients, while 41% say GM foods have a neutral effect on health. Just 7% say they are better for health than other foods.

Views about the health effects of such foods grew more negative between 2016 and 2018 and have been steady since then, according to Pew’s surveys, the latest of which was conducted in October 2019.

As Americans think about the effects of GMOs, about three-quarters (74%) say it is at least fairly likely that GM foods will increase the global food supply. And 62% say GM foods are very or fairly likely to lead to more affordably priced food.

Of the Americans who think GM foods are worse for health, 88% believe GM foods are at least fairly likely to result in health problems for the population as a whole, and 77% think they are at least fairly likely to create problems for the environment. At the same time, half or more also say that such foods are at least fairly likely to help increase the global food supply (64%) or result in more affordably priced food (50%).

Those who believe that genetically modified foods are neither better nor worse for health than conventionally grown foods tend to expect positive benefits from GM foods for the global food supply (78% say an increase is very or fairly likely). But only 27% of this group think GM foods are at least fairly likely to result in health problems for the population as a whole, and only 30% believe GM foods are at least fairly likely to cause problems for the environment.

Almost one-third of U.S. adults (29%) report that they have heard a lot about foods with genetically modified ingredients, while 59% have heard a little, and 12% say they have heard nothing at all about these foods. People who are more familiar with GM foods are more likely to be concerned about their health effects: 55% of those who know a lot and a similar share (51%) of those who know a little about GM foods believe such foods are worse for health, compared with 39% of those who say they know nothing about GM foods.