Consumer Transparency in Animal Agriculture

Dairy and livestock producers are striving to meet consumer demand for greater transparency. Their messages on farm origin, animal welfare and sustainability need to resonate with consumers. What technologies are needed to achieve traceable data from the farm to the retailer and the consumer?

At the Animal AgTech Innovation Summit on March 21, Melissa Brandao, founder & CRO at HerdDogg will share critical insights about ‘Communicating with the Consumer: Building Trust through Transparency’ at 5.10pm PT. Ahead of the summit, Melissa reveals her thoughts about labelling and how the industry can build more trust with consumers.

What labelling messages resonate with consumers when they’re deciding what to buy?
Consumers are looking for truth about their food. For some, this means certainty that their food is locally produced. For others, it’s understanding attributes such as provenance and the brand promise of the producer. Meat has the potential to be marketed as effectively as other premium foods, such as wines and craft beers.

How has this changed, post-pandemic?
The pandemic sharpened people’s awareness about food supply chains and the downsides of centrally processed meat. For some consumers, it has intensified their resolve to support local producers, and many producers and processors are responding by localizing their operations.

How do we tell the more complex, and difficult stories about livestock and dairy production to the consumer?
Until now, consumers have had very little insight into where their meat comes from. But attributes such as meat aging, animal miles traveled, and animal well-being are high-value data points that affect consumers’ buying decisions. Studies demonstrate that consumers are willing to spend more of their food dollars to have access to these insights.

Is the industry ready for complete consumer transparency?
From a business perspective, the industry recognizes the need to share more information with consumers. Technically, all the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place. HerdDogg’s methodology of data sharing from cow-calf producer to consumer increases overall product value.

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