Poll: Banned food better be given to needy, orphans

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Interfax – August 13, 2015)

Forty percent of Russians have backed the authorities’ decision to destroy embargoed food, while the number of opponents is a bit higher (48 percent), the Levada Center has told Interfax on Aug. 13.

In the opinion of the respondents, the food would better be given to orphanages, homeless shelters or hospitals (43 percent) or be distributed amongst the needy: pensioners, people with disabilities and families with many children (41 percent).

Twenty-seven percent proposed to give the embargoed food to charities; 27 percent proposed to send the food to Donbas and 12 percent to hungry people in Africa.

Fifteen percent think the embargoed food should be destroyed and 10 percent suggest that it be processed and used as fertilizer or cattle food.

On July 29, 2015, the Russian president signed a decree on the destruction of all agricultural products, raw materials and food prohibited from being imported into Russia starting on August 6. According to Rosselkhoznadzor, 371 tonnes of food had been destroyed by Aug. 10.

Twenty-three percent of Russians said the decree ranked second amongst the most remarkable events of the past four weeks.

On the whole, 68 percent of the respondents backed the Russian authorities’ ban on imports of food and agricultural products from EU countries and the United States. The indicators were 78 percent and 13 percent, respectively, a year ago.

Two-thirds (66 percent) of the respondents feel negative about the proposal to ban government procurements of high-tech medical hardware, such as X-ray machines, ultrasonic scanners, artificial lung ventilation systems, newborn incubators and so on, from the West, and 26 percent support it.

The ban on government procurements of orthopedic footwear, prosthetic appliances, crutches, bandages and other patient care products from the West is supported by 33 percent and not supported by 55 percent.

Forty-three percent of 1,600 respondents polled in 134 populated localities in 46 regions on Aug. 7-10 backed the idea to ban government procurements of condoms from the West, and 36 percent expressed their negative attitude.

 

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