>Home/GMOs/explore

Home | GMOs | About Us | Members | Campaigns | Events | Media | Publications | Links | Contact | Internal

What Europeans think about GMOs

Across Europe, consumers have rejected GMO foods and public concern over these products remains high. The Eurobarometer opinion poll published by the European Commission in December 2001 showed that 94.6% EU citizens want the right to choose, 85.9% want to know more before eating GMOs, and 70.9% simply do not want GM food.
(see http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/press/2001/pr0612en-report.pdf )

In addition, in the latest Eurobarometer opinion pull in April 2005, 9 out of 10 people said that decision-makers should pay as much attention to environmental considerations as to economic and social factors. (see http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_217_en.pdf)

Find out what people in your country think:

Austria
In April 1997, 1.2 million Austrians (a quarter of the electorate) called for a ban of GM in agriculture and foods.

Croatia
In a 1999 survey (of 500 people), 16% thought that GMOs were a good thing, 44% were against the technology. 53% would not eat GM food.

A poll carried out in January 2002 revealed that 75.5% of Croats did not want to eat GMOs; 3.1% said they did want to, 5.2% did not know. 80.7% supported a draft GMO law (to ban GMOs), 8.4% did not support a ban, and 10.9% did not know.

Czech Republic
In April 2000, an opinion poll conducted for the Czech Television and Broadcasting companies showed 87% of men and 93% of women wished to have GM food visibly labelled.

In November 2000, a survey by a Czech newspaper revealed that 99% of consumers did not want GM food to be sold in the Czech Republic.

Denmark
In 1998, a poll revealed that the majority of Danes were against GM food.

In November 2000, the Nordic Industrial Fund carried out a survey in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden on GM foods and applications of genetic modification. The survey found that it was regarded as a major benefit in itself that a product is non-GM. When a product involved genetic modification, this elicited numerous negative associations, mainly "unhealthy" and "uncertainty".

Finland
See 'Denmark' second paragraph.

France
In a poll in November 1999, more than half of French people had serious reservations about the use of GMOs and 91% said that information about them was inadequate. 24% were against GMOs and said that cultivation of GM crops should be forbidden in France.

Germany
According to an opinion poll by Slowfood in August 2005, 79 % of Germans were agaisnts GMOs.

Greece
In a seminar held in November 2000, it was revealed by BEUC (European Consumers' Association) that since 1996, consumer resistance to GMOs had increased by a staggering 80%.

Italy
In March 2001, a poll carried out by People Swg (for the Ministry of Agriculture) found that 67% of people were against the use of GMOs in agricultural production; 75% thought legislation on food safety was inadequate; 4 out of 5 would spend more to get healthier food.

The Netherlands
In June 2001, a poll by the University of Twente indicated that 65% of Dutch people rejected GM foods (an increase from 52% in the last poll).

Also in 2001, the government commissioned a "broad societal debate" on GM and food. The Terlouw Committee which executed this survey reported in early 2002 that "the general impression is that the public takes a very reserved stance on GM in food. The usefulness is doubted, the risks are feared and alternatives are being asked for".

69% of Dutch people who took part in the survey (through newspaper adverts) stated that they found the use of GM in food "unwanted". 43% of respondents did not want to allow GM foods at all. Less than 6% were satisfied with the current labelling regime according to present EU and Dutch law. More than 80% thought that labelling should go further than the present situation. 64.5% were of the opinion that in the Netherlands, labelling should be as strong as possible so that the consumer can be absolutely certain that he/she buys products containing no GM ingredients.

31% would allow GM crops to be grown only after their effects on nature and the environment were known, after many years of research.

Norway
See 'Denmark' second paragraph.

Poland
In a poll carried out in May 2000, 89% of respondents said that GM food should be additionally labelled.

Slovakia
In an opinion poll commissioned by Greenpeace Slovakia in September 2001, 70% of respondents said they would prefer natural food to genetically modified food. Also, 74% said that food containing GM ingredients should be clearly marked.

In May 2004, The TNS Agency carried out the survey on a representative sample of 1,015 respondents to monitor the attitude of Slovaks towards modified foods. One in two Slovaks think genetically modified food harms health. The view that genetically modified food has a detrimental effect on health was held more often by younger people between the ages of 18 to 29 and 30 to 39, people with higher levels of education, and respondents living in larger cities - in Bratislava and Kosice. Only one in 10 of those polled could not judge the influence of such products on human health. Three-quarters of those polled would also reconsider the consumption of a product, should they find a warning about genetic modification on its packaging. Of those polled, 36 percent would not consume a genetically modified food product at all and 38 percent would reduce their consumption of it. Only a quarter of respondents would continue to consume a product containing genetically modified ingredients without any reduction.

Spain
A survey carried out between March and April 2001, by the Center of Investigaciones Sociologicas (CIS) revealed that 53% of the public thought that advances in biotechnology (including genetic engineering) were dangerous to the environment; 49% thought they were dangerous to humans.

When asked about the use of genetic engineering in agriculture and food production, 50% of Spaniards were opposed. Only 26% supported the technique. 63% said that they would not eat a potato with maize genes; 27% did not mind. For labelling of GM food, 92% thought that it should be obligatory to specify in the label if a nutritional product is genetically modified.

Sweden
See 'Denmark' second paragraph.

Switzerland
According to a opinion poll carried out by Coop in 2004. 83% of the population said that they don't want to eat genetically engineered food. 12% said that genetically engineered food is good. And 6% had no opinion.

UK
In July 2003, according to a Welsh Consumer Council report, amost half of consumers avoided buying GM food. Moreover, almost three-quaters of consumers agree that all food containing GM ingredients should be labelled even if it only contains a tiny amount.

In September 2001, a study by the National Consumer Council showed that 80% of British consumers believed that meat from animals fed with GM feed should be clearly labelled. 42% wanted to see zero GM contamination of foods and almost two thirds (64%) said it was important that all foods containing any amount of GM ingredients should be labelled as such.

An NOP survey in July 2004 revealed that two-thirds of the British population support new laws to prevent GM crops contamination our food and farming. The NOP World survey for Friends of the Earth interviewed 2002 adults aged 15+ by telephone between 2-11 July 2004. They were asked: "Genetically Modified (GM) crops may contaminate non GM crops in neighbouring fields, or during handling and processing, which could lead to GM contamination of food. Would you support laws that prevent contamination occurring, or do you think that contamination is worth the risk because of the benefits of genetic modification?"

On 2nd September 2004, a survey by the Consumers' Association finds more respondents say they are against GM crops than a similar representative sample of around 1,000 questioned two years ago. Only a quarter say they favour GM crops being grown in the UK, compared with almost a third in 2002. Six out of 10 Britons say they are concerned at use of genetic modification in food production and want to avoid GM foods.