MSU Food Literacy and Engagement Poll: Wave II

March 26, 2018

Numbers listed in tables are percentages.

Using a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is not at all influential and 5 is very influential, how influential are food labels in your food buying decisions?


Influential (4-5)	61
Some influence (3)	25
Not influential (1-2)	13

How often do you think you consume genetically modified organisms, often called GMOs?


Every day	21
At least once a week	21
At least once a month	8
Rarely	15
Never	7
I'm not sure	28

Using a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is much lower than an average person and 5 is much higher than an average person, how would you rank your understanding of the global food system?


Higher than average (4-5)	38
Average (3)	43
Lower than average (1-2)	19

How often do you seek information about where your food was grown and how it was produced?


Every day	14
At least once a week	20
At least once a month	17
Rarely	35
Never	15

Using a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is do not trust at all and 5 is completely trust, how much do you trust the following individuals or groups when it comes to the safety of food?

Academic scientists


Trust or completely trust (4-5)	52
Neither trust nor distrust (3)	32
Distrust or completely distrust (1-2)	15

Government scientists (FDA)


Trust or completely trust (4-5)	48
Neither trust nor distrust (3)	32
Distrust or completely distrust (1-2)	20

Industry scientists


Trust or completely trust (4-5)	33
Neither trust nor distrust (3)	38
Distrust or completely distrust (1-2)	29

When purchasing food for your family, do you avoid products containing the following?

Genetically modified ingredients (GMOs)


Yes	33
No	25
Sometimes	31
I am not familiar with this ingredient	11

Chemicals


Yes	41
No	24
Sometimes	29
I am not familiar with this ingredient	6

Processed foods


Yes	33
No	27
Sometimes	36
I am not familiar with this ingredient	5

Bisphenol A (BPA)


Yes	32
No	18
Sometimes	18
I am not familiar with this ingredient	32

Titanium Dioxide


Yes	22
No	16
Sometimes	13
I am not familiar with this ingredient	49

When it comes to nutrition and health, where do you turn most frequently for information?


Friends/family	19
My doctor	27
Books	7
Magazines (i.e. "Dr. Oz," "Oprah")	5
Blogs	6
Television (i.e. "The Doctors," "The Chew")	9
Social media	11
Scientific journals/academic research	15

Using a 1 to 5 scale where 1 is not at all likely and 5 is very likely, how likely would you be to purchase foods that look and taste identical to meat, but are based on ingredients that are produced artificially?


Likely (4-5)	33
Neither likely nor unlikely (3)	19
Unlikely (1-2)	48

Using a 1 to 5 scale, where 1 is strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? I avoid eating foods that contain chemicals.


Agree (4-5)	53
Neither agree nor disagree (3)	31
Disagree (1-2)	16

Please indicate whether you think the following statement is true or false: All bacteria are harmful.


Yes	17
No	75
Not sure	8

Methodology

The Michigan State University Food Literacy and Engagement Poll was conducted online between February 13 and 15, 2018, among 2,125 U.S. residents aged 18 and over. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. The poll is administered by Toluna, NA, a leader in online research that manages one of the world’s largest internet-based research panels with more than 4.5 million registered and active users.

All surveys are subject to multiple sources of error. Most of these errors are often impossible to quantify. In addition to sampling error, these errors include coverage error, non-response error, interviewer bias when appropriate, and the error associated with how a question is asked or the response options given. The overall margin of error would be 3 percentage points at the widest interval.

For more on the Michigan State University Food Literacy and Engagement Poll, click here.

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