Since 1979, trust in U.S. institutions has declined dramatically, from the military to Congress. As Lori Rakoczy, associate principal for Technomic, points out American are living in a “trust deficit” time. However, for the meat industry, trust has remained stable to positive, and those consumers are not just confident about the industry overall, they’re actually telling their friends.
“For the most part, we have active supporters outnumbering active detractors. We have seen a slight shift where there’s a more positive feeling,” Rakoczy says. “The biggest one where we’re seeing detractors is animal welfare. That’s a hard one to really budge, but one thing I want to point out here is consumers ages 18 to 24 are more likely to be detractors. So, they’re more likely to tell their friends and this age group has more ability to spread those messages.” Read more