Fresh Corn (photo by Kevin Connors, courtesy of morguefile.com)

After a spate of alarming media reports, it’s not surprising that Americans have far more confidence in the safety of food produced domestically than in food imports, as a recent survey by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University has found.

The results of the survey are summarized in a paper written by Rich Pirog, who leads the Center's Marketing and Food Systems Initiative, and Iowa State University graduate student Andy Larson.

Survey respondents placed high importance on food safety, freshness, and pesticide use on fresh produce. They placed somewhat lower importance on whether the produce was locally grown, the level of greenhouse gas emissions it took to produce and transport it, and whether the respondent could contact the farmer who grew it.

Mr. Pirog said that while 70% of the respondents perceived the U.S. food system to be safe, concern was raised when they were asked about the safety of fresh produce from other continents. Eighty-five percent and 88% of respondents, respectively, perceived local and regional food systems to be somewhat safe or very safe, compared to only 12% for the global food system.

To download the report from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University go to: Consumer perceptions of the safety, health and environmental impact of various scales and geographic origin of food supply chains