Food Security Top Concern for Majority of Americans

New Harris Poll Commissioned by Bayer reveals more than 70 percent of Americans concerned about food shortages

WHIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, and supply-chain disruptions and production shortfalls threaten the flow of crops around the world, Americans are significantly concerned about global food security. According to a new Harris Poll commissioned by Bayer, a majority of Americans are concerned about food shortages (71%) and “food deserts,” or regions of the country where people have limited access to nutritious and affordable food (69%). The poll of 2,010 adults, conducted in June of this year, was commissioned in an effort to chart the sentiment of Americans on food security at this historic time.

Ninety percent of Americans are currently concerned with inflation and the increasing price of goods and services. The impact of the global food crisis is apparent across the country’s grocery stores. The Harris Poll survey revealed that 87% of Americans are particularly concerned about the rising cost of groceries. Sparse shelves are amplifying these worries, with 76% of respondents indicating they are seeing more empty shelves at grocery stores now than at the beginning of 2022.

“Within the next three months, a quarter of a billion people will have less access to food¹,” says Patrick Lockwood-Taylor, President, Bayer U.S. and President, Consumer Health, North America. “That is starting to approach starvation conditions. As always, it is the most underserved populations who are at greatest risk. As one of the country’s leading life sciences companies, Bayer is solving for this issue head-on in pursuit of our vision of Health for All, Hunger for None. Bayer is committed to empowering farmers on the ground by providing access to the seed and technologies they need to be most effective during this time of hardship. We must all do our part – as individuals and organizations – to help address global food security now.”

Bayer’s investment in its vegetable seeds business, which helps farmers produce nutritious crops globally, allows for growers to ensure maximum production. Additionally, Bayer is committed to equipping American farmers with breakthrough innovations and amplifying tool accessibility to help close the food security gap. To support Ukrainian farmers, Bayer recently donated about 40,000 bags of seed to grow food on nearly 30,000 hectares. Americans’ rising concerns about food access and security indicate how imperative it is for Bayer to continue to direct targeted resources to farmers, so they can feed the world.

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About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2021, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 44.1 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

About The Harris Poll

The Harris Poll is a global market research and consulting firm that provides the insights and digital tools needed to build a better tomorrow. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

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¹ Data according to the UN and the Sustainable Development Goals as related to Goal #2 Zero Hunger. Additional information available here: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger