Everybody Wants It Both Ways
A Cal Poly research study into preferences of sweet corn buyers at a farmers market in San Luis Obispo, CA, conducted last fall while county voters were deciding how
they would vote on a ballot measure that would have banned genetically engineered crops in the county, found that despite advocating for organic products, consumers prefer produce protected from insect damage by biotech ingredients. The study found that consumers in San Luis Obispo County prefer organic produce but used the lack of insect damage as the most important factor when deciding which items to buy. Craig Macmillan, a lecturer who worked on the study and tabulated the data, was cited as saying the study also found that more than 35 percent were interested in buying corn that is undamaged by worms, but nearly 25 percent said they preferred organic crops. Equal numbers said biotech crops are a necessary part of modern agriculture or that they would never eat genetically-engineered crops.
Jeff Wong, the Cal Poly crop science professor who headed the study, was cited as saying the researchers were frustrated by the politics surrounding the proposed genetically engineered crop ban, called Measure Q. They had hoped to be called upon to provide unbiased, scientific information about bioengineered crops. That did not happen. Wong was quoted as writing in the report that, "Inaccurate and misleading information regarding biotechnology was disseminated by both campaigns." Measure Q was rejected by 59 percent with 93 percent of county voters who participated in the election voting on Measure Q.
For the study, researchers grew four options of sweet corn and offered them for sale at the San Luis Obispo Farmers Market to gauge customer reactions and preferences. Each option was clearly marked. The four options were: conventional corn, conventional corn sprayed with a pesticide, biotech (B.t.) corn, and biotech corn sprayed with pesticide. Corn presented to customers ranged from heavily damaged (conventional unsprayed corn) to undamaged (sprayed biotech corn). Wong was cited as saying that most consumers wanted undamaged corn, even if it contained biotech ingredients, showing a level of acceptance of genetically engineered crops. A smaller number of customers were willing to tolerate worm damage as evidence of the produce being organic, particularly if the damage was limited to the top of the ear and could be cut off. (San Luis Obispo Tribune, 2/19/05).
