Biotech Updates

Adoption of Biotech Crops Affects Consumers and Farmers' Attitudes

November 25, 2011

Farmer and consumer agreement on the benefits of plant biotechnology in food production was found to be strongest in countries with high adoption of GM crops, according to the results of the BASF Farm Perspective Study. The Synovate GmbH research team surveyed 1,800 farmers and 6,000 consumers from Brazil, India, the U.S., Germany, Spain, and France.

Around 80 percent of the farmers and consumers agree that the main purpose of farming is to feed the world. However, most of the farmers believe that consumers do not fully comprehend the dimension of the food supply challenge. Farmers and consumers agree about the important contribution of plant biotechnology especially in India (76% of farmers and 62% of consumers), Brazil (78% and 29%) and the USA (53% and 25%).

The press release is available at http://www.basf.com/group/pressrelease/P-11-492.