The first American state to pass a GMO-labeling law, Vermont, was a litmus test for the rest of the country. Vermont passed the law in 2014 requiring any product that contained a GMO to be labelled. Most assumed that a GMO label would be a kiss of death for any product it was on, just as the Non-GMO Project certified label has become a marketing tool.
But data from a recent study suggests otherwise.
The study found a decrease, of about 19 per cent, of Vermont citizens self-reported opposition to GMO foods. Many organizations, familiar with the science that says GMO foods are perfectly safe, have opposed mandatory labelling laws.
Even accounting for demographics, such as age, education, gender, race, family composition, income and political affiliation didn’t change the results. Across the board, trust in GMO products improved once mandatory labelling was in place.
“Whether labels improve a sense of control, improve trust, or operate by some other psychological mechanism is a question we leave to future research,” the study reads.
