Consumer fears about avian influenza are being unjustly heightened by animal activist group propaganda, and the U.S. government must counter untruths by telling the consumers the facts, according to the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF).

In recent months, a massive U.S. media focus on avian influenza, coupled with needless hysteria from animal rights activists who see bird flu as an opportunity to promote vegetarianism, has generated widespread fear that has no basis in reality, CCF charges.

As a result, nearly half of Americans questioned in a recent opinion poll mistakenly believe that they can contract bird flu by eating chicken. Forty- seven percent of respondents--including 42 percent of college graduates--agreed with the false statement that eating an infected chicken can result in bird-flu transmission. The poll, which sampled the opinions of 1,007 Americans, was commissioned by CCF and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation.

Cooked poultry simply cannot transmit the virus to a human being, CCF relays. "Even if an infected bird reached the U.S. food supply, properly cooking it would kill the avian influenza virus," said David Martosko, CCF's Director of Research. "Our government should be reminding Americans of this on a regular basis. The most common route of infection from bird flu is direct contact with a sick bird. But few Americans have ever handled a live chicken. And despite what animal rights groups want us to believe, it's quite safe to eat chicken and turkey--as long as you cook it first."

Avian flu is a serious enough issue without needlessly scaring people about their food, Martosko added. "Even if Americans have learned to filter out propaganda from animal rights groups, Washington officials should be held to a much higher standard," he says. "Our government should be aggressively communicating the truth--that eating fried chicken or Thanksgiving turkey won't increase anyone's risk of catching bird flu. But so far, U.S. consumers are only hearing the increased drumbeat of fear."

The survey of 1,007 adults nationwide was conducted by telephone on October 14, 2005 by Opinion Research Corporation. The margin of error is plus or minus three percent. Here are the survey results:

Question: Avian flu has been in the news recently. How do you believe a person gets infected with Avian flu? You can answer yes to multiple options.

Answers: Coming in contact with someone who already has Avian Flu, 58 percent; coming in contact with a live chicken that has Avian Flu, 54 percent; eating an infected chicken, 47 percent.

The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by restaurants, food companies, and consumers, working together to promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices. Additional information is available at ConsumerFreedom.