Most New Zealanders are Worried About Eating GE Food

["Greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

MOST NEW ZEALANDERS ARE WORRIED ABOUT EATING GENETICALLY
ENGINEERED  FOOD -- OPINION POLL
Green Groups launch poll on eve of Global Week of Action 


Auckland, Sunday April 20th, 1997:- Sixty percent of New
Zealanders  are worried about eating genetically engineered
food, according to an  AGB McNair opinion poll commissioned by
Greenpeace, Soil an Health and Friends of the Earth.

The groups have called for an immediate moratorium on
genetically  engineered food, which can currently enter the New
Zealand market  without assessment or labellin

The poll, released by the groups on the eve of a Global Week of 
Action against genetic engineering, showed that 43 percent of
people  were "worried a lot" and 17 percent of people were
considerably  rried about eating genetically engineered food. 
Only 12 percent of  people "would not worry at all" about eating
genetically engineered  food (see attached results

Opinion polls in Europe also show consumer resistance to
genetically  engineered food.  Between 53 percent (in the UK)
and 78 percent (in  Sweden) of people disagreed with the
statement: "I personall would be happy to eat genetically
modified food" (MORI, January  1997). An average 17 percent of
Europeans said they agreed with the  statemen

"Consumers have spoken," Stephanie Mills of Greenpeace said.
"People  do not want mutant food, and it is time the Government,
the food  regulators and the food industry listened to them

She said the groups had commissioned the poll of 1000 New
Zealanders  from an independent market research company to
ensure a robust  statistical result.  She criticised a
HortResearch survey  publi
 last week, which she said had loaded questions to list the
supposed  benefits of genetic engineering, while ignoring the
risks. 

Genetically engineered soybeans, manipulated by Monsanto to be 
tolerant to their herbicide Roundup, may already have been
imported  from Australia into New Zealand.  Soybeans are used in
cakes,  br
 baby food and up to 60 percent of processed food.  Monsanto has 
applied to increase the level of permitted residues of Roundup
in  soybeans in Australia and New Zealand as result of importing 
Rou
 Ready soybeans.

Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Soil and Health and other
groups  such as the Safe Food Campaign and the Open Forum for
Health have  called for amoratorium on all imports and
production of 
geneti
y engineered food.  There are currently no regulations to assess
or  label genetically engineered food in New Zealand. Labelling 
regulations proposed by the Canberra-based Australia New Zealand
Food uthority would result in many genetically engineered foods
not being  labelled.

The Global Week of Action follows a highly successful referendum
in  Austria last week, where 1.22 million Austrians called on
their  government to stop the release of genetically engineered
organism into food and the environment.  Activities will be
taking place in at  least 24 countries during the week April
20-27th, including pickets,  press conferences, and street
protests, in the United Stat , across Europe, Canada, India,
Malaysia, Australia, Japan and  Brazil.

In New Zealand, activities are planned by environment and food
groups  in both Auckland and Wellington.  On Earth Day, Tuesday
April 22nd,  Auckland groups will stage a supermarket protest at
midday. In Wellington, a similar protest is planned on Thursday.