Zogby COOL Poll

Here is the link to the Zogby poll summary regarding country of origin labeling.
The survey was released Aug. 9. From the Zogby report:

Survey shows 90% believe knowing the country of origin of the foods they buy will allow consumers to make safer food choices
As food recalls – from both imported foods from overseas and foods produced here in the U.S. – continue to make headlines, Americans may be paying more attention to where their food comes from. Nearly three in four (74%) say it’s important to them to know the country of origin for the all types of products they buy, but even more – 85% – say knowing where their food comes from is important. But for the vast majority of Americans it’s about more than just wanting to know – 94% believe consumers have a right to know the country of origin of the foods they purchase, a new Zogby Interactive poll shows.

TK: We love our consumers, and more than 9 out of 10 think that knowing country of origin labeling is their God-given right.

Just knowing what country a food comes from is no guarantee it will be safer than a food produced in the U.S., but nine in ten (90%) believe knowing the country of origin will allow consumers to make safer food choices. One of the components in this year’s Farm Bill deals with expanding country of origin labeling beyond seafood to include meat, produce, and other foods and is currently under consideration by Congress. Most Americans strongly favor mandatory labeling – 88% say they would like all retail foods to be labeled this way. This requirement is most supported by older adults, but significant majorities in all age groups said they would support this country of origin labeling effort.
But wanting to know and going out of their way to check where a product comes from are two different things. Checking the country of origin seems to be on the minds of consumers at least some of the time – 37% said they check most of the time and 34% said they check occasionally. While 11% said they always make sure to check to see where a product comes from, 15% rarely do and 4% never check.
Despite overwhelming support for labeling, 5% disagree with mandatory country of origin labeling for foods. Of those, nearly two-thirds (63%) said compliance would be too costly and it would drive up food prices. Another 27% said it doesn’t matter what country food comes from that is sold in the U.S., and 2% believe such labeling could be unfair to foreign competitors. Many food shoppers (70%) said they are willing to pay more for produce, poultry, meat, seafood and other food products if they were from the U.S. But how much are shoppers willing to pay to know their food doesn’t come from a foreign country? One in three (34%) would pay up to 10% more for U.S. food and nearly half (46%) would be willing to pay from 10% to 25% more. Just 11% would be willing to pay 25% or more for U.S. foods over cheaper imported foods.

TK: If consumers will pay more for U.S.-grown produce, will retailers? The first reality would seem to support the second.

Not everyone is so willing to pay more for food just because it doesn’t come from outside the U.S. – 15% wouldn’t be willing to pay more for food from America. Of those, 38% said they wouldn’t be willing to pay more because cost is the most important factor in making their food choices, while another 27% said it doesn’t matter what country the food they buy comes from.
These findings are included in the August issue of Zogby’s American Consumer newsletter, which focuses on how Americans feel about imported goods, product safety, food labeling and many other issues and is available now at www.zogby.com. The Zogby Interactive survey of 4,508 adults nationwide was conducted July 17-19, 2007 and carries a margin of error of +/- 1.5 percentage points. Other findings from the online survey include:
90% of Americans want the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to hire additional inspectors to increase inspection of food imports
96% said they take recall warnings seriously.
Most Americans (67%) are satisfied with how the U.S. government gets the message out to the public about recalled products, but 30% believe the government’s efforts are lacking.
Overall, nearly half (48%) said they don’t know where the majority of the vegetables, fruits and nuts they consume originate.
While nearly two-thirds (65%) of American adults said they go out of their way to buy local produce and other food products, 32% said it isn’t a priority.

TK: There is a disconnect between the country of origin labeling offered by retailers and suppliers and consumer awareness. Could it be that PLU labels that offer country of orgin info are put in type that is too small to read? Does anyone else find it surprising that 65% of Americans go out of their way to buy local? That's a big number. Again, there may be a gap between what people say they do and how they actually behave.