Cyndi's Two Cents

Consumer perceptions are surprising

Commentary.

We have our work cut out for us.

During the recent Missouri Governor’s Conference on Agriculture, United Soybean Board and Missouri Soybean sponsored a Consumer Perceptions Panel facilitated by the Center for Food Integrity. It was an eye-opener, to say the least.

Two men and five women who live in the Lake of the Ozarks area in Missouri and do most of the food shopping for their families made up the panel.  They were selected by someone who worked at the hotel where the conference was held, so had no pre-existing relationships with sponsors, facilitators or those of us attending the conference.

During the session those of us in the audience were allowed to ask questions, but were asked not to comment or lecture, applaud or gasp and groan. Unfortunately, there are always a few in every crowd who break the rules, but overall the panel did not “play to the crowd.”  The consumers appeared to be thoughtful and honest in answers to the questions posed by the facilitator and the audience.

Some of my key take-aways from the session are:

Consumers know very little about GM foods.

When given a list of 5 possible definitions for GM, only 3 of the 7 know that GM is genetically modified.  None of them knew what genetically modified means.  None of them like the sound of it.  The majority of the consumers on the panel believe GM foods should be labeled as such and one of the consumers suggested that label should include an explanation as to “why” it was genetically modified.

Consumers prefer to purchase local foods.

The definition of local, however, varies as does the reason for that preference.  Four panelists define local as coming from within the state.  The other 3 view local as coming from their tri-county region.   One panelist said there is comfort in supporting the local economy. She believes local food is safer.  Another said he doesn’t necessarily believe it is safer, but does believe local is fresher.  Only one of the panelists is not overly concerned about the origin of his food.

For the most part, they like to buy direct from produce stands or farmers markets when they can because they trust farmers who sell at those venues.  They have no desire to go to the farm to make the purchases, but would look at a farm’s website.

They all want to know where their food comes from and if given the opportunity, all but one said they would only purchase products from the USA. Of the 7 panelists, only 1 said he would purchase food products from Mexico.  The others were adamantly opposed to purchasing anything from south of the border citing concerns over sanitation and handling.

Budget is a consideration.

Most of the panelists mentioned budget at least one time.  I’ve said this a million times:  preference does not always match behavior.

Consumers do not know who to trust when it comes to food and food labels.

One of the panelists said he believes USDA is the stamp of approval, but he really doesn’t trust the government.  Another believes a farmer can stick whatever he wants on a label. “How do I know I can trust anything?” she asked.

One said she trusts names that have been around for a while – citing General Mills as an example.  Another trusts The Food Network and another uses Wikipedia to learn about ingredients on food labels.

Nearly all of panelists say they will not buy foods that contain ingredients they cannot pronounce or recognize.

Few if any of the consumers on this panel understand the definition of organic, cage-free, natural, GM, etc.  “I’m totally confused about all these labels,” said one of the consumers on the panel.

Perception is reality, my friends.  If we would all have just one conversation every week with a consumer in the grocery store, at a restaurant, after church or at a school function, we could make a difference.