Voice of the Consumer
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Health and wellness. Sustainability. Animal welfare. Consumers are bombarded daily with information on a wide spectrum of topics. Our consumer pulse surveys help you draw key insights that impact your decision-making.
Add conflicting consumer expectations to the list of reasons farming is a tough row to hoe. In its new global study, Cargill found consumers had a hard-to-satisfy wish list for those who put food on our tables—with most claiming to feel knowledgeable about how our food is raised. Farmers should care most about “providing safe, healthy, abundant and affordable food,” said a majority of survey takers. Yet those same respondents would prefer their food come from smaller/specialty, local or organic farms—which can’t necessarily compete on cost.
Meat, fish and eggs can be an important part of a healthy and environmentally responsible diet, say consumers in a new survey. And they plan to keep eating them too—along with plant-based dietary protein. More than two-thirds of respondents say they intend to maintain or increase their consumption of animal protein in the next year.
Younger generations are showing a greater connection to the people, places and practices that raise our food. In fact, twice as many young respondents (18–34) in the U.S. and China reported knowing a livestock or seafood farmer compared to those over 55—with similar trends in Mexico and France.
Over the past five years, 44% of American and British consumers surveyed had added more fish to their diets. Poultry came in a close second, followed by beef and pork.
U.S. consumers are confident that their food is safe for grilling with 94% saying they believe protein is raised and processed with proper food safety measures
Consumers in general report they are three times more likely to prefer protein that were fed those natural feed additives to improve the animal’s digestive health and overall well-being.