ADWEEK reports -- Ethical Eating Goes Mainstream

You think the industry that awaits those who graduate from our culinary arts and hospitality programs will not need to do a better job purchasing and producing meals based on foods that were raised ethically?  Think again according to survey data released this month by Context Marketing, a strategic-marketing- communications firm, ethically produced food is not a fringe movement -- it has become a mass-market phenomenon.  Apparently, consumers are not as interested in purchasing the lowest-priced commodities even though that is what Big Ag wants to sell to the American consumer.

According to the article written by Mark Dolliver, for Adweek:
...the survey (conducted in January) sought to identify the attributes that distinguish ethically produced foods in consumers' minds. In order to qualify as an "ethical food," more than nine in 10 respondents agreed, the product must "avoid harming the environment" (93 percent), "meet high safety standards" (92 percent), "use environmentally sustainable practices" (91 percent), "avoid inhumane treatment of animals" (91 percent) and "be produced to high quality standards" (91 percent)....

...This tendency to see "ethical" attributes as a marker for consumer-centric advantages is reflected in the finding that 65 percent of respondents are "more willing to believe brand claims about high quality when I know a food is ethically produced." And it's telling that the number of respondents agreeing that "ethically produced food is healthier to eat" (60 percent) and "safer to eat" (58 percent) easily exceeded the number saying they "feel virtuous when purchasing ethically produced foods" (43 percent). Sure, some consumers are feeding their own sense of self-worth when they buy such goods, but more are intent on the actual nutrition...

...Nor do consumers approach foods' ethical claims with an uncritical eye. Seventy-six percent of respondents said they "have become skeptical about some ethical food claims because they do not always mean what they imply." Says Kenney, "If ethical claims are important to consumers, they must stand up to the same level of scrutiny given other brand claims. Consumers approach most brand claims today, not just ethical claims, with a healthy sense of skepticism. But ethical claims, when used appropriately, may be one of the best ways for food producers to engage consumers, and especially women..."

And as usual, women are smarter than men given:
...The female skew is evident in the polling data. Most notably, 75 percent of women, vs. 63 percent of men, said they're willing to pay more for ethical foods. Women were also more apt than men to say it matters to them that farm workers and farm animals are treated humanely.


What these study findings make clear is that the tide is turning on those who are not producing food in an ethical and sustainable manner.  This is due in large part to the efforts of those who have given their lives to taking on Big Ag to fight against their so-called modern practices.  Maybe some in the livestock business who own and operate CAFO's will now deliver on their bluff to take their operations to third world countries and make room once again for the factory farms they have strategically and greedily put out of business through anti-trust and integration practices (now being investigated by the Justice Department). Hope there is a market for their products now that the American consumer is wising up.  Or, perhaps those who are using unethical farming practices will wise up and clean up their act for goodness sake for the sustainable profits of their business model and the health and safety of consumers because it is possible to do both as evidenced by many farmers across this great land of ours.

To read the article in its entirety visit:
http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3ic7094b13c12aa2accee332d6e783f70e?pn=1