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Americans Say Hunger More Urgent World Problem Than Global Warming and Pollution More than Two-Thirds Support the Use of Food And Agricultural Biotechnology as a Tool to Help Solve Problem DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The American people believe that hunger and malnutrition are more urgent global problems than disease, pollution and global warming, according to a new poll released today at the World Food Prize awards in Des Moines, Iowa. According to the survey of 1,000 adults, conducted for the Alliance for Better Foods, hunger and malnutrition are considered an urgent problem by 75 percent of American adults, compared with the 68 percent who feel disease and epidemics are urgent problems; 66 percent for pollution and environmental damage; and 43 percent for global warming. By a margin of more than two to one -- 69 percent to 26 percent -- Americans support the use of biotechnology in food and agriculture and nearly three out of every four adults, 71 percent, believe biotechnology can help resolve problems of world hunger and malnutrition. C. Manly Molpus, President and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, a founding member of the Alliance for Better Foods, today said "the poll demonstrates that Americans are more concerned than ever about feeding the world's growing population and that the benefits of biotechnology are being increasingly recognized as important tool in meeting the food challenges of the 21st century." When asked about several approaches to solving the problem of world hunger and malnutrition, 86 percent of respondents said that training more people to grow their own food would make a big, or some, contribution; 72 percent said distributing surplus grain to poor countries and international charities would help; 71 percent said using biotechnology to develop crops that are more productive or grow in harsh conditions would be of benefit; and 46 percent saw the value of increasing U.S. government aid to poor countries. The poll also found strong support for the use of biotechnology in a variety of agricultural applications:
"The response by Americans in (this) poll is heartening," said Dr. C.S. Prakash, Director of the Center for Plant Biotechnology Research at Tuskegee University. "It affirms what most agricultural scientists and policy makers have been saying all along. Science and technology can continue to make a positive contribution in alleviating world hunger, and Americans overwhelmingly support initiatives to increase agricultural productivity and the use of biotechnology in addressing concerns of global food and nutritional security." The survey, conducted by KRC Research & Consulting, consisted of a random sample of 1,000 adults in the United States. Interviews were conducted between September 15 and September 18, 2000, and the results have an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent for proportions near 50 percent. The full survey is available on the Alliance for Better Foods Web site at http://www.betterfoods.org The Alliance for Better Foods represents diverse agriculture and food related groups, including farmers, processors, distributors and retailers; scientists and food technologists; and professionals in other fields dedicated to improving nutrition, protecting the environment and fighting world hunger. The Alliance supports biotechnology and the significant benefits it offers to consumers and to those that produce and process foods, and is committed to helping people understand those benefits as well as the safety of using biotechnology in foods.
SOURCE Alliance for Better Foods |
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