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Consumers' Attitudes Toward Agriculture are Mostly Favorable

© Rena Larranaga

When asked to rate a number of occupations in terms of their contributions to society, 85 percent of respondents to a recent consumer survey said farmers are making a "great deal of contribution to society." That's only one percentage point behind teachers and fire fighters, who scored best, and well ahead of politicians, who scored only 13 percent.

The survey, commissioned by Philip Morris and the American Farm Bureau Federation, was conducted in July and August 1999 and is one of the most comprehensive farmer-consumer studies ever done. Specifically, 1,002 consumers shared their views of modern farming practices and assessed the roles of farmers. Also, 704 of America's farmers and ranchers were asked to assess their own performances and evaluate consumers' perspectives on agriculture.

Respondents answered a variety of questions in the following categories:

1. Consumer preferences for the food they eat
2. Consumer satisfaction with various food characteristics
3. Farmers' views of consumer preferences and satisfaction with the food supply
4. Farmers' and consumers' attitudes toward modern food-production practices and the impacts of those practices on the environment
5. Farmers' and consumers' views about the healthfulness and safety of the food supply

Selected Results

Consumers believe farmers are undercompensated for their role in supplying food products. When asked if farmers receive appropriate financial compensation, 72 percent of those polled said no. And 68 percent do not believe farmers are economically better off than 10 years ago.

Consumers are open-minded about biotechnology. Both consumers and farmers are open to biotechnology. In the survey, 57 percent of consumers support biotechnology if it improves the taste of foods, 65 percent support it if it improves the nutritional value of food, and 73 percent support biotechnology if it reduces pesticide use.

Farmers overestimate negative perceptions, while consumers remain uncertain. Most farmers overestimate consumers' negativity toward certain farming practices, including biotechnology, irradiation, use of hormones in milk production, and antibiotics used to treat animal diseases. The survey indicates that, actually, consumers haven't heard or don't know much about most farming practices. Better-informed consumers are more accepting of modern technologies.

Consumers are not comfortable with pesticide use in food crops. Of those surveyed, consumers will accept higher prices (57 percent), a smaller food selection (68 percent), seasonal availability (72 percent), and biotechnology (73 percent) as trade-offs for not using chemicals in food production.

Consumers view the trend toward larger, fewer farms as negative. Most consumers are aware of the trend, and 73 percent viewed it as negative. When

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