Gate-to-Plate Survey Mom's Perceptions on Food Production

The Gate-to-Plate survey of more than 1,000 moms was commissioned by CommonGround, a grassroots coalition of farm women who want to foster conversations among all women – on farms and in cities – about where our food comes from and how it is raised.
Ohio farmer and CommonGround volunteer Kristin Reese shares more what the Gate-to-Plate survey revealed.
Reese: “One of the hot button words lately has been GMO foods, I hear a lot of feedback from moms about GMOs but in the survey they said that one-fourth of the moms had never even heard of GMOs. So while we hear a lot of talk about it, there is still a certain population that isn’t even aware of what GMOs is. I think that GMO foods have been extensively tested by the Food and Drug Administration and the USDA. Twelve-plus years of biotech crops have been commercial grown and there hasn’t been a case of an ill person from GMO foods.”
Another interesting survey question discovered that more than half the moms agree it is important to feed their families hormone-free chicken and pork - even though it may cost more to do so.
Reese, who raises broilers shares there is no need to pay extra for poultry or pork labeled hormone-free as USDA prohibits farmers from using hormones to raise chickens or pork.
Reese: “You see a product in the grocery store that says hormone-free, you may be paying a little extra for a product that just says hormone-free when in fact it is all hormone-free.