Sax Joanna K, Doran Neal
Joanna K. Sax, J.D., Ph.D., is a Professor of Law at California Western School of Law (San Diego, CA). She received her Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (Philadelphia, PA). Neal Doran, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego (San Diego, CA) and Director of Clinical Improvement, Office of Mental Health at the Veteran's Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (San Diego, CA). He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago (Chicago, Il).
J Law Med Ethics. 2016 Dec;44(4):630-638. doi: 10.1177/1073110516684805.
The food supply is complicated and consumers are increasingly calling for labeling on food to be more informative. In particular, consumers are asking for the labeling of food derived from genetically modified organisms (GMO) based on health, safety, and environmental concerns. At issue is whether the labels that are sought would accurately provide the information desired. The present study examined consumer (n = 181) perceptions of health, safety and the environment for foods labeled organic, natural, fat free or low fat, GMO, or non-GMO. Findings indicated that respondents consistently believed that foods labeled GMO are less healthy, safe and environmentally-friendly compared to all other labels (ps < .05). These results suggest that labels mean something to consumers, but that a disconnect may exist between the meaning associated with the label and the scientific consensus for GMO food. These findings may provide insight for the development of labels that provide information that consumers seek.
食品供应情况复杂，消费者越来越要求食品标签提供更多信息。特别是，出于对健康、安全和环境的担忧，消费者要求对源自转基因生物（GMO）的食品进行标注。问题在于，所寻求的标签是否能准确提供所需信息。本研究调查了181名消费者对标注为有机、天然、无脂肪或低脂、转基因或非转基因食品的健康、安全和环境认知。研究结果表明，与所有其他标签相比，受访者一直认为标注为转基因的食品在健康、安全和环境友好方面较差（p值 < 0.05）。这些结果表明，标签对消费者有一定意义，但标签所关联的意义与转基因食品的科学共识之间可能存在脱节。这些发现可能为开发能提供消费者所需信息的标签提供参考。
