The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI) released its annual public trust research findings during the organization’s 2021 Public Trust Summit on Oct. 19.
This year’s data shows that “Canadians are concerned about the food system as a whole, they are feeling information overload, the pandemic didn’t have as significant effect as originally believed, and the need for credible information delivered through a diversified farming community is critical,” says the report.
The percentage of respondents who feel the food system is “headed in the right direction” dropped from 47 per cent in the 2020 study to 39 per cent in 2021, according to CCFI’s survey.
“The intricate details are becoming less of a concern while food affordability, profit driven systems, and sustainability are top of mind,” reads the report. “Although items such as antibiotic and pesticide use are important, the concern for these particulars are declining and the results show that consumers are interested in the advancing ‘big picture’ topics instead.”
The report includes both qualitative focus group results and quantitative results from an online survey.
People from multiple regions across the country participated in the research: from Atlantic Canada, to the greater Toronto area, to both large and small urban and rural centres in western Canada.
One of the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity’s (CCFI) main objectives as a national charity is to foster relationships that advance public trust in Canada’s food systems.
Some of the objectives of this year’s report were to track public attitudes about Canada food, agriculture and food systems issues as compared to previous research, to measure trust among food system stakeholders, and to build a better understanding of emerging issues that will increasingly impact the food system.
The CCFI gains insights from a research advisory panel made up of nine industry professionals, in the public and private sectors.
An overview of the report can be found here.
More to come on RealAgriculture breaking down the 2021 CCFI Public Trust Research…
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