Canadians Found to Distrust Animal Farmers

A new survey conducted by the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity reveals that Canadians do not trust food suppliers, particularly animal agriculturalists. According to the study—which polled 2,500 Canadians who are representative of the population—only 29 percent of Canadians believe that farmers are good stewards of the environment, while 73 percent indicated that they believed animal-cruelty footage from undercover investigations is indicative of the conditions found on most farms. Furthermore, the study revealed a 10 percent increase in public concern for animal welfare since 2012. The research was presented at the Public Trust in Agriculture Summit held in Ottawa in June, with various insights on how to regain public trust, including the recommendation that “our target audiences are having conversations about what’s on their plate and how it gets there. We need to join those conversations.”