| Consumers and Farmers: What do they care about? What do they know?
(April 2003)
CONSUMERS
- Which farm policy objective was rated highest in consumer focus groups?
A. Help farmers and ranchers meet public demand for safe, fresh food.
B. Help farmers and ranchers meet public demand for clean water and air, open space, and wildlife habitat.
C. Meet public demand for low food prices.
D. Protect family farming and the social and economic vitality of rural communities.
- In a survey of Minnesota households, how much did respondents indicate they would be willing to pay annually to farmers for agricultural practices that yield multiple benefits to the environment (such as soil conservation)?
A. About $50
B. About $100
C. About $200
D. About $500
- In a national survey, what percentage said they would be willing to pay more for food if it meant that it could be produced in ways that protect the environment?
A. 71
B. 88
C. 56
D. 39
- Which of the following factors is most important for consumers when they make their food purchases?
A. Cost
B. Nutritional value
C. Freshness
D. Locally produced or grown
E. Absence of chemicals and pesticides
- Which of the following did consumers most often rate as a "major" problem for the environment?
A. Soil erosion
B. Genetically engineered crops
C. Disposal of animal wastes
D. Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers from farms entering ground water
- In a national survey, what percentage of Americans said they would eat meat from livestock grown in the United States (first percentage listed) and European countries (second percentage)?
A. 81, 57
B. 92, 10
C. 94, 45
D. 75, 88
- In the same survey as number 5, what percentage of Americans said they were "very concerned" about our food supply after the September 11 terrorist attack? (Other choices were "somewhat concerned" and "not particularly concerned.")
A. 90
B. 36
C. 55
D. 80
FARMERS/RURAL PEOPLE
- In one study, which term was thought to be most effective in communicating about rural issues?
A. Farm Crisis
B. Rural Crisis
C. Save the Family Farm
D. None of these
- What did rural advocates identify as the most important concern for those living in rural areas?
A. Our community is eroding
B. Our kids have no future here
C. Farmers are going out of business
D. Corporations have too much control
- In one survey, what percentage of large farmers and ranchers said they were aware of the term "sustainable agriculture"?
A. 90 percent
B. 40 percent
C. 75 percent
D. 60 percent
- Which obstacle did large farmers and ranchers most often give for not using sustainable practices?
A. Economic reasons
B. Don't know how
C. Landlord won't allow it
D. Perception of lower productivity E. Concerned about what neighbors think
MSAWG Pop Quiz -- Answers
QUESTION 1:
A. "Safe, fresh food" most often had the highest ratings in focus groups conducted in Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Arkansas by FoodRoutes Network and Vanguard Communications.
Visit: www.foodroutes.org QUESTION 2:
C. $200. The survey indicated to respondents how much adoption of a "green payments"-type policy would cost their household in terms of higher taxes and higher prices for goods and services. Citizens' willingness to pay for the benefits of the policy were elicited from their responses on how they would vote in a referendum on this policy, given its effects and financial consequences.
Source: Land Stewardship Project's Multiple Benefits of Agriculture and "Multiple Benefits From Agriculture: A Survey of Public Values in Minnesota" by Patrick G. Welle.
Visit: www.landstewardshipproject.org QUESTION 3:
A. 71 percent. 19 percent were undecided, and 10 percent would not be willing to pay more.
Source: Food from Our Changing World, lead by North Carolina State University with assistance from a variety of land grant universities.
Visit: sasw.chass.ncsu.edu/global-food/foodglobal.html QUESTION 4:
- Freshness (87 percent consider very important)
- Nutritional value (67 percent)
- Cost (59 percent)
- Absence of chemicals and pesticides (57 percent)
- Whether or not food is locally produced or grown (29 percent).
Source: Report on Building Support for Buying Local, surveys done in California, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. Survey conducted for the FoodRoutes Network Buy Local Campaign.
Visit: www.foodroutes.com
In another survey by the Food Processing Center at the University of Nebraska, consumers most often reported as "extremely important" in influencing them to purchase locally grown or produced food:
- taste (77 percent)
- quality (62 percent)
- nutrition/health (56 percent)
- price (46 percent)
- and locality (29 percent)
Visit: www.foodmap.unl.edu/report_files/Locally_Grown_Consumer_Survey_Report.pdf QUESTION 5: D is the correct answer.
- Soil erosion: 56 percent
- Cross pollination of plants or seeds in the environment with GE crops: 12 percent
- Disposal of animal waste: 39 percent
- Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers from farms entering ground water: 68 percent
Source: Roper ASW of NY, commissioned by the American Farm Bureau.
Visit: www.fb.com/news/nr/nr2003/nr0120b.html
(Teresa Opheim also has a print copy) QUESTION 6:
B. 92 percent of those surveyed would eat meat from livestock grown in the United States; only 10 percent would eat meat grown in the other European countries (excluding England -- 14 percent said they would eat meat from England).
Source: Food from Our Changing World, lead by North Carolina State University with assistance from a variety of land grant universities.
Visit: sasw.chass.ncsu.edu/global-food/foodglobal.html QUESTION 7: Fifty-five percent were "very concerned," 36 percent "somewhat concerned," and 9 percent "not particularly concerned." The same survey participants were asked: "Before the September 11 terrorist attack on the United States, had you thought about food security?" 54 percent said "not much," 29 percent said "some," and 17 percent said "a lot."
Source: Food from Our Changing World, lead by North Carolina State University with assistance from a variety of land grant universities.
Visit: sasw.chass.ncsu.edu/global-food/foodglobal.html QUESTION 8: D. None of these. "Much of the public rhetoric for change in rural and ag policy has been built around saving the family farm and dealing with the farm crisis. Save the family farm, from an urban perspective is similar to "save the whales." There's a sentimental attachment to a romantic ideal of "family farm," but it's not a very strong one, certainly not strong enough or real enough to have influenced policy. Too many farms have been lost, and people have been saying this for so long that it sounds like failure."
Source: Talking About Rural Issues, conducted by ActionMedia, for the League of Rural Voters. Focus groups were held with rural advocates June 2002 in Iowa and South Dakota.
Contact Kristen Corselius at kcorselius@iatp.org QUESTION 9: B. "Our kids have no future here" -- the importance of family -- is the over-riding value that all participants agreed was widely shared by everyone in their communities. Participants strongly cautioned against taking a naive or sentimental view of the oft-cited community spirit of small-town life. Participants also were unanimous in their belief, based on their experience, that people are not receptive to messages that blame corporate producers and set up an "us vs. them" dynamic.
Source: Talking About Rural Issues, conducted by ActionMedia, for the League of Rural Voters. Focus groups were held June 2002 in Iowa and South Dakota.
Contact Kristen Corselius at kcorselius@iatp.org. QUESTION 10:
D. 60 percent. Source: Trends in Agriculture: 2000 Study, conducted by the Gallup Organization. "Large" was defined as having an average annual income of $70,000.
Visit: www.americanbusinessmedia.com/images/CoreResults.pdf QUESTION 11:
D. Perception of lower productivity (89 percent); Economic reasons (61 percent); Don't know how (36 percent); Landlord won't allow it (17 percent); Concerned about what neighbors will think (15 percent
Source: Trends in Agriculture: 2000 Study, conducted by the Gallup Organization. "Large" was defined as having an average annual income of $70,000.
Visit: www.americanbusinessmedia.com/images/CoreResults.pdf
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