GLOBAL AGRICULTURE
Hungry for Information:
Polling Americans on Their Trust
in the Food System
By Marcus Glassman
October 2015
The Chicago Council’s Science and Our Food project
explores public attitudes on food and the opportunities and risks of leveraging scientific techniques in
food production.
>> A majority of Americans name affordability and
nutrition as very important issues concerning the
food they buy, followed by a third of Americans who
say buying non-GMO and antibiotic-free food is
very important to them.
Executive summary
>> Americans trust health professionals, friends and
family, farmers, scientists, and the US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) most when it comes to
information about their food. They trust documentaries to a lesser degree and the food industry (grocery stores, food companies, food packaging) and
media (both social and traditional) least of all.
There is a growing interest in food in the United
States: where it comes from, how it is made, and what
it represents. Expanding markets for organic, local,
and non–genetically modified (GMO) foods mirror
this interest, as do policy debates nationwide on food
labeling and agriculture. In many ways, however, the
issues that dominate the public discourse around food
are not the issues that matter the most to Americans.
According to a new survey by The Chicago Council on
Global Affairs, although Americans do find GMOs, antibiotics, sustainability, and transparency important,
they are most concerned with affordability, nutrition,
and food safety.
>> Americans want food producers to prioritize food
safety most of all, followed by nutrition and affordability. When asked which issues Americans believe
food producers prioritize and what issues they
believe those producers should prioritize, perceptions fall short of expectations by more than 50 percentage points on food safety and nutrition.
Introduction
Food has become a hot topic. In America chefs are
increasingly revered as celebrities, documentaries
on food are some of the most watched on Netflix and
television, and magazines and websites from Bon
Appetite to Modern Farmer are reaching mainstream
audiences like never before. There is a renaissance in
America’s interest in food and, more specifically, how
food is produced.
This interest is permeating national, state, and local
policies. Congress is considering a new law that would
curtail the capacity of the states to regulate food labels
on GMO foods; the FDA is proposing updates to nutritional labels; and the Obama administration has just
THE CHICAGO COUNCIL ON GLOBAL AFFAIRS - 1
Figure 1
How
interested
arein you
in how
the food you
How interested
are you
how the
food you
buy isis
produced?
buy
produced? (%)
5
Not at all interested
Somewhat interested
Not very interested
Very interested
16
46
32
Source: 2015 Science and Food Survey
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
launched a review of how GMO foods are regulated
governmentwide. As policymakers tackle food issues
and seek to build a food system that engenders high
consumer confidence, it is essential that they understand how the public thinks about their food and what
they consider trusted sources of information.
This survey by The Chicago Council confirms that
Americans care a great deal about how their food is
produced: a full 78 percent of Americans say they are
“very” or “somewhat” interested in how the food they
buy makes its way to their plates. The survey also
reveals that the public holds clear opinions about
which aspects of food they find important, the sources
of information they find trustworthy, and what they
believe food producers should be doing.
Americans prioritize affordability
and nutrition.
If you follow the dialogue on food in the United States,
it can be difficult to decide what is and what is not
important to Americans. Entire marketing campaigns
Entire marketing campaigns angle to promote how
a food was produced: sustainably, without GMO
ingredients, locally grown, from a family farm, without
antibiotics. But according to The Chicago Council’s
polling, these are not Americans’ biggest concerns.
angle to promote how food was produced: sustainably, without GMO ingredients, locally grown, from a
family farm, without antibiotics. But according to The
Chicago Council’s polling, these are not Americans’
biggest concerns.
Unequivocally, Americans care most about the
affordability and the nutrition of the food they buy.
Only three in ten surveyed say they consider non-GMO
or antibiotic-free to be very important food traits, and
even fewer were concerned about food being organic,
from a family farm, or locally produced. These results
suggest that the public discourse on these hot-button
topics may be more noise than substance.
Although concern and awareness on the methods
of production are certainly expanding—and the market share for people seeking non-GMO and organic
food is consequently growing—the focus on these
issues by media and marketers may have outpaced
the actual concern by consumers. Take, for example,
Although concern and awareness on the methods
of production are certainly expanding, the focus
on these issues by media and marketers may have
outpaced the actual concern by consumers.
the unsurprising demographics on those who find
nutrition most important: women, those making more
than $50,000 per year, and those over 35 years of age.
In other words, nutrition is most important to those
most likely to be concerned about children and famiFigure 2
When ititcomes
to the
foodfood
you buy,
important
When
comes
to the
youhow
buy,
how
is it that the food be:
important is it that the food be... (%)
Somewhat important
Very important
Affordable
33
59
Nutritious
34
57
Not genetically modified
Antibiotic-free
38
Locally grown
Organically grown
From a family farm
From a nationally
known brand
32
43
31
50
37
17
44
42 11
Source: 2015 Science and Food Survey
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
2 - HUNGRY FOR INFORMATION: POLLING AMERICANS ON THEIR TRUST IN THE FOOD SYSTEM
20
16
lies and those who can afford to be at least somewhat
selective about the foods they buy. Affordability is
most important to those making less than $50,000 per
year—an understandable observation. Food attributes
such as non-GMO, organic, or local, however, have no
such broad-based demographic support and consequentiality have a small, albeit growing, market share.
Americans want food producers to
prioritize food safety and nutrition.
When asked what issues they believe food producers
take into account a “great deal,” only one in five Americans say food safety, followed by affordability and
nutrition. When asked what they think food producers
should take into account, three-quarters of Americans
say food safety and over half say nutrition, transparency, sustainability, and affordability. The disparities
between how the public thinks food producers are
performing and how they think they should perform
are striking. Survey respondents think producers lack
focus on food safety and nutrition by more than 50
points, and lack on sustainability, transparency, and
affordability by more than 40 points.
These gaps between perceptions and expectations
may well underlie much of today’s popular food movement—which rejects traditional food systems and producers—and the rise of marketing campaigns focused
on organic, non-GMO, and local foods.
Surprisingly, while Americans are more dissatisfied
with producer performance in areas like food safety
and nutrition than they are on the issues of transparency and sustainability, few debates have arisen
surrounding that discontent. This suggests a discord
between what Americans prioritize and the current
dialogue on food.
When it comes to food, Americans
trust health professionals, peers, and
farmers—but not food companies or
the media.
One of the major factors surrounding the food dialogue in the United States is the issue of trust—where
do Americans seek trustworthy information, and
whom do they believe? Americans consider health
professionals the most trustworthy sources of infor-
Figure 3
How much do you think food producers take the following items into account? And how much do you
think food
producers
following items
into following
account? items to account? And how much
How
much
do youshould
think take
foodthe
producers
take the
should they take the following items into account? (% “a great deal”)
Do take into account a great deal
66
9
9
9
53
54
40
57
13
Nutrition
Transparency in production
74
17
Affordability
Fighting hunger
Gap
20
Food safety
Environmental sustainability
Should take into account a great deal
53
44
36
45
51
42
Source: 2015 Science and Food Survey
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
THE CHICAGO COUNCIL ON GLOBAL AFFAIRS - 3
Figure 4
When you get information about the food you buy, how trustworthy do you find the following sources?
When you get information about the food you buy, how trustworthy do you find the following
sources? (%)
Somewhat trustworthy
Very trustworthy
Health professionals
60
Friends and family
60
Farmers
59
Scientists
58
FDA
23
23
20
53
19
Documentaries
62
Grocery stores
60
Food packaging
Food companies
Print and broadcast media,
including online
Blogs and social media
25
55
45
47
36
11
5
4
4
3
2
Source: 2015 Science and Food Survey
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
mation, followed closely by their friends and family,
farmers, scientists, and government—specifically the
FDA. A fair number of people trust documentaries, but
a majority distrust the overall food industry—grocery
Health professionals may be the best suited to
disseminate information about food in a trusted,
impartial manner, followed by farmers and
scientists in the case of younger generations.
stores, food packaging labels, and food companies
themselves. People trust media sources least of all,
including print, broadcast, social media, and blogs.
Only 2 percent of Americans consider blogs and social
media “very trustworthy” sources of information.
The biggest divide on the trust question is age.
Those aged 25 to 34 are the most likely to consider
farmers very trustworthy and are the only age group
to also consider scientists very trustworthy. Younger
Americans are also most likely to consider the FDA
very trustworthy, and the most likely to find print and
broadcast media very untrustworthy. These results
highlight an interesting trend in trust: the youngest
Americans are the ones that find some of the most
fundamental sources of food and science information—scientists, farmers, the FDA—most trustworthy,
while older Americans do not. Given the pivotal role
trust plays in communicating about food, these results
are telling.
The distrust Americans hold towards food companies observed in the survey, coupled with the
demonstrated disconnect between the public’s major
concerns (nutrition, affordability, food safety) and the
focus of the food debate (GMOs, organic, local), highlights the need for strong, neutral arbiters of information. Given the results, health professionals may be the
best suited to disseminate information about food in
a trusted, impartial manner, followed by farmers and
scientists in the case of younger generations.
Conclusion
The findings in this survey suggest that the issues that
dominate the current food dialogue are out of sync
with Americans’ views on food. Contrary to the visibility of the debate about GMOs, antibiotics, and local
food, the vast majority of Americans value food that is
4 - HUNGRY FOR INFORMATION: POLLING AMERICANS ON THEIR TRUST IN THE FOOD SYSTEM
above all affordable, safe, and nutritious. Americans
view health professionals, farmers, and scientists as
trustworthy sources of information about food and
nutrition, but they view media sources—traditional
and social—most skeptically and the food industry
itself without much confidence. Many questions remain, however, about the reasons behind the public’s
views and how the public understands concepts like
“nutrition” and “food safety.” Importantly, to what
extent might the issues asked about be conflated—for
example, how many respondents consider GMOs a
safety issue or organics a component of nutrition?
One known factor is that responses vary depending
on respondents’ levels of interest in food overall. While
nutrition and affordability are the most important
issues for the general population, followed distantly
by antibiotics and GMOs, those Americans who say
they are “very interested” in food view nutrition as far
About the survey
The analysis in this report is based on data collected
for The Chicago Council by GfK Custom Research
using the KnowledgePanel OmniWeb, a nationwide
online research panel recruited through an address-based sampling frame. The survey was fielded
between September 25-27, 2015 among a national
sample of 1,000 adults, 18 years of age or older, living
in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. The
margin of error is ± 3.0 percentage points, with higher
margins of error for demographic subgroups.
Funding for this survey was provided by The
Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ general operating
revenue. No donations were solicited or accepted for
the explicit funding of this survey.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is an independent, nonpartisan organization committed to
Contrary to the volume of the debate about hotbutton issues like GMOs, antibiotics, and local food,
the vast majority of Americans value food that
is above all affordable, safe, and nutritious.
educating the public—and influencing the public
discourse—on global issues of the day. The Chicago
Council has been a leading center for public polling
research on the US public and international affairs for
the past 40 years, while its Global Agriculture and Food
program has provided thought leadership on a range
and away the single most important issue, with GMOs,
antibiotics, and affordability tied for not-so-distant
second place. Why is this? And how do the select
interests of those most interested in food drive the
conversation nationally for producers, marketers, and
policymakers? How far do they push the conversation
away from the national consensus? Further research is
necessary to understand these intricacies.
As The Chicago Council’s Science and Our Food
project continues, it will explore the drivers behind
attitudes towards food production, trustworthiness,
and agriscience to answer these questions. The goal
is to untangle the discourse and find out what really
drives the public’s understanding of science and food.
of food and farm issues for the past decade.
About the author
Marcus Glassman is a research associate with the
Global Agriculture and Food program at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, working to develop the
Science and Our Food project. A food safety epidemiologist, Glassman has previously worked on food safety
policy modernization and Salmonella transmission
research. He holds an MS in public health microbiology from the George Washington University and a BA in
medical anthropology from Purdue University.
THE CHICAGO COUNCIL ON GLOBAL AFFAIRS - 5
Appendix
Table 1
Q1. How interested are you in how the food
you buy is produced?
Very interested
32%
Somewhat interested
46%
Not very interested
16%
Not at all interested
5%
Table 2
Q2. When you get information about the food you buy, how trustworthy do you find the
following sources?
Very
untrustworthy
Somewhat
untrustworthy
Somewhat
trustworthy
Very trustworthy
Health professionals
3%
11%
60%
25%
Friends and family
2%
13%
60%
23%
Farmers
3%
14%
59%
23%
Scientists
4%
16%
58%
20%
FDA
8%
19%
53%
19%
Documentaries
5%
20%
62%
11%
Grocery stores
4%
30%
60%
5%
Food packaging
8%
31%
55%
4%
Food companies
11%
38%
45%
4%
Print and broadcast media, including online
11%
37%
47%
3%
Blogs and social media
15%
45%
36%
2%
6 - HUNGRY FOR INFORMATION: POLLING AMERICANS ON THEIR TRUST IN THE FOOD SYSTEM
Table 3
Q3. When it comes to the food you buy, how important is it that the food be...
Not at all
important
Not very
important
Somewhat
important
Very important
Affordable
1%
5%
33%
59%
Nutritious
2%
5%
34%
57%
Not genetically modified
7%
21%
38%
32%
Antibiotic-free
5%
19%
43%
31%
Locally grown
5%
24%
50%
20%
Organically grown
12%
32%
37%
17%
From a family farm
8%
30%
44%
16%
From a nationally known brand
11%
35%
42%
11%
Table 4a
Table 4b
Q4a. How much do you think food
producers take the following items into
account?
Q4b. How much do you think food
producers should take the following items
into account?
Not at
all
Not very
much
A fair
amount
A great
deal
Not at
all
Not very
much
A fair
amount
A great
deal
Food safety
3%
19%
55%
20%
Food safety
2%
4%
19%
74%
Affordability
5%
28%
48%
17%
Affordability
2%
5%
34%
57%
Nutrition
5%
27%
53%
13%
Nutrition
2%
4%
26%
66%
Environmental
sustainability
8%
38%
42%
9%
Environmental
sustainability
3%
7%
35%
53%
Fighting
hunger
11%
45%
33%
9%
Fighting
hunger
3%
12%
38%
45%
Transparency
in production
11%
39%
39%
9%
Transparency
in production
3%
6%
38%
51%
THE CHICAGO COUNCIL ON GLOBAL AFFAIRS - 7
The Chicago Council
on Global Affairs, founded in 1922,
is an independent, nonpartisan organization
committed to educating the public—and influencing
the public discourse—on global issues of the day.
The Council provides a forum in Chicago for world
leaders, policymakers, and other experts to speak
to its members and the public on these issues. Long
known for its public opinion surveys of American
views on foreign policy, The Chicago Council also
brings together stakeholders to examine issues
and offer policy insight into areas such as global
agriculture, the global economy, global energy,
global cities, global security, and global immigration.
Learn more at thechicagocouncil.org and follow
@ChicagoCouncil.
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www.thechicagocouncil.org