Public uncertainty is reinforced by consumer advocates who question whether the advancements are in the best interest of a safe and sustainable food supply, and by activists whose mission is to undermine agriculture. The growing size of farms doesn’t fit the nostalgic image of a lone red barn. The public is uncertain what to think of the advancements in agriculture, including the use of technology in crop protection and plant/animal breeding. Why the trust gap and what can we do about it? There are multiple reasons for it. While it’s true that the term “modern agriculture” means different things to different people, we can look across multiple consumer research projects and see similar results: a big gap between the level of trust in farmers versus farming.įarmers are highly trusted to tell the story of agriculture and explain how production practices align with societal values. Our recent research shows only one person in five has a high level of trust in modern agriculture and about half the population trusts modern ag somewhat, which means they are skeptical. The nuance often missed is that public trust of farmers doesn’t always convey to farming. Kidding aside, this presents an incredible opportunity. This reality was reinforced by our own recent survey at American Farm Bureau, which found that 88% of Americans trust farmers. While the levels and rankings vary among surveys, the level of trust in farmers comes shining through in all of them. Farmers enjoy one of the highest levels of public trust of any group or potential source of information, ranging from scientists to government experts, and certainly more than leaders in the retail sector.
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