Consumer and Food: Perceptions, Realities and Steps Towards Instilling Confidence - Mrs. Leann Saunders, Where Food Comes From, from the 2013 NIAA Symposium Bridging the Gap Between Animal Health and Human Health, November 12-14, 2013, Kansas City, MO, USA. Mrs. Leann Saunders, President of Where Food Comes From, Inc., states that consumers rely on media for vast majority of their information and have constant confusion over what is right, healthy, cost effective, safe, or green. Mrs. Saunders offers that verified and branded information can help consumers understand and trust the traceability and source verification behind a food product. More presentations at http://www.trufflemedia.com/agmedia/conference/2013-niaa-antibiotics-bridging-the-gap-animal-health-human-health

1. Consumers and Food:
Perceptions, Realities and Steps
Towards Instilling Confidence
Leann Saunders
President
Where Food Comes From, Inc.

2. The Consumer Dynamic
Today consumers…
 Rely on media for vast
majority of their information
 Have constant confusion
over what is right/healthy/cost
effective/safe/green…

3. Begins at the Source
Humanizing our food.
 The average consumer is at least 3
generations removed from the farm or
ranch
Making the connection

4. 4

5. “What
can I
feed my
family
that is
safe and
nutritiou
s?”

6. The Consumer Dynamic
Today consumers…
 Food is often an emotional
purchase
 We feed our families and “how” we
feed our families can dictate our
health, how we learn and our future
 It is an important decision
 Perceptions of health can drive
decisions because ,“We aren’t in the
paperclip business”.
 Today’s consumers are very diverse

7. Research Recap
Today consumers…
 Over 60% of consumers are reading
product labels
 61% of consumers think our food system
is “Safe” or “Very Safe”
 50% of consumers think its “Important” or
“Very Important” to know if an animal
was treated with antibiotics when
purchasing meat, dairy and egg products
 50 – 84% across retailers said that source
verification was important to them

8. What we are doing
Where Food Comes From® began
with the consumer in mind.

9. Begins at the Source
Where Food Comes From® is a
consumer brand dedicated to
communicating the traceability
and source verification behind a
food product.

12. Our Collective Responsibility
We can choose to disregard and discredit or
we can see this as great opportunity
To communicate transparently and honestly
It is all about trust…in all relationships it is
about trust
We have to provide retailers with tools for
effective communication
We must walk in a Mother’s shoes
Because at the end of the day consumers
don’t have to to purchase meat protein, there
are other options
Today’s consumers are very diverse
So we must not get into a “group think”
mentality on the production side
There is room for various kinds of production
systems