Investigating Shopper Awareness and Attitudes Towards Genetically Modified Foods in Trinidad, West Indies

The development of genetically modified foods (GMFs) has led to consumer concern about food safety and environmental protection. The objective of this study was to determine the Trinidadian shopper awareness and attitudes toward GMFs. One hundred and twenty six (126) respondents were interviewed by a structured questionnaire of 19 questions with sections on demographics, awareness, willingness to purchase GMFs perceived benefits and risks, labeling, availability of GMFs and responsibility for GMFs information Whilst some respondents (44.4%) have not heard of GMFs, the slight majority of 54.8% of all respondents claimed to have some knowledge of the topic. Furthermore it was found that of the respondents who claimed to know of GMFs were 55.6% had an incorrect understanding of the term. Respondents were asked if they believed that GMFs were well publicized in Trinidad with 42.9% ‘strongly disagreeing’, 39.7% ‘disagreeing’, 13.5% ‘agreeing’, and 3.2% ‘strongly agreeing’, this was further emphasized by the finding that the majority of respondents(67.5%) were not mindful of any GM food product on the market. It was the view of the majority that GMFs should not be sold in Trinidad, with risks to human health (71.4%) and the environment being major concerns. GMFs were viewed in a positive light with reference to food security, although the majority of respondents (88.1%) stated they would purchase non-GMFs as opposed to GMFs, if priced equally. Significant relationships (P<0.05) were determined between awareness of GMFs, education and employment, as well as overall attitude to GMFs genuine awareness and publicity. There was no significant statistical relationship between age and overall attitude to GMFs.