Engaging with Consumers Builds Awareness and Gains Trust

An Agricultural Economist with the University of Alberta says there’s an increasing level of dissatisfaction among consumers with their knowledge of what goes into producing food

By Bruce Cochrane – FarmScape Online

Dr. Ellen Goddard, the Cooperative Chair of Agricultural Marketing and Business with the University of Alberta, told those on hand last week for Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2017 in Saskatoon, the average consumer knows less about the food they consume than they would like so they’re constantly looking for information.

“Engaging with consumers and farmers gives an opportunity to build awareness and gain trust”

 

“I’m interested in the fact that, in some parts of my research, if I ask them how good animal husbandry is on the farm, for example for pigs, about a third of my respondents in a national survey of two thousand people will say I don’t know, and I think that makes them feel nervous,” Goddard said.
“I think the reason they feel nervous about not knowing – whereas 20 years ago the same kind of exercise would probably have not generated that sense of unease – is because of the outrage and shock value they feel with some stories that come through the mainstream media.”

“These could be, for example; a shocking story of how a certain dairy incident may have happened in a dairy barn where cows may have been mistreated, or something about pigs being mistreated and they feel oh dear, if that happens all the time then that makes me uncomfortable. So I think there is a desire to know.”

“They also feel they would like to know more about the kinds of things that are being fed to animals, the reasons that things are happening on the farm that they may or may not know about,” Goddard went on to say. “If you can give them a good reason and show that you’re taking care of your animals then they feel so much better, but if they can’t get access to that information then they’re a bit uncomfortable.”

Dr. Goddard says, by engaging with consumers, farmers have an opportunity to build awareness and gain trust.

By Bruce Cochrane – FarmScape Online