“It’s not just an industry problem we have -- there is a macro problem with trust in this country,” Shank said.

“A lot of what we are doing every time we interact with a customer is earning their trust,” he said. “Whether they are buying product from us, whether we are marketing to them – each of those touchpoints are an opportunity to earn and build that trust.”

Food marketers must find ways to connect with consumers within this context, Shank said. Improving measures of trust for US consumers in the five key focus areas of consumer sentiment has a strong connection to how frequently consumers purchase meat and poultry products.

Across the five categories, 10% to 15% of US consumers have a high level of trust (defined as being active supporters who will speak up for the meat industry and meat products).

Despite a recent dip in trust, the number of consumers in the study who report being active detractors of industry efforts in the five areas has trended down in four areas (labor excepted). The study identified news of labor relations issues, foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls as impacting consumer trust. However, the majority of consumers reported they trust the industry to produce safe meat and healthy meat in an environmentally friendly way.

A particular area for potential improvement in consumer trust in the industry is animal welfare.

Shenk said consumer analysis finds similar levels of strong consumer trust and skepticism across all the focus areas of consumer sentiment except for animal welfare, where 20% of consumers report being active detractors of the meat and poultry industry. Only 10% of consumers are active supporters of the industry when it comes to animal welfare.

“This is one of the largest groups of detractors in the industry,” Shank said, adding that a fifth of the marketplace is sort of in a mindset that is almost like an activist.

"If I’m putting some emphasis on a particular pillar, that 20% is one that we have to work on,” he said.

On a more positive note, Shenk said consumer sentiment toward the industry on environmental issues finds more supporters than detractors.

“There’s actually a fairly small number of active detractors,” he said. ”There’s a lot of noise about environmental activism and things of that nature. They’re actually outnumbered by the folks who support the industry actively and are actually out there talking about it in a positive way.’    

The study suggests that consumer trust in the health and wellness attributes of meat and poultry products is higher than for plant-based meat alternatives.  The study also found that animal proteins are more likely to be described as craveable and tasty, while plant-based proteins appeal to consumers’ environmental consciousness.

“We really need to start thinking about incentives and communication that sort of recognize these shared and differing priorities, both across producers and consumers, and how we can match those groups up and tailor our approaches to these different groups,” said presenter Dr. Jennifer Otten, an associate professor in the University of Washington's Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences.