According a recent Poultry Site article , research by the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity reveals that Canadians have lost faith in farmers and the food supply as a whole.





The findings were presented at the inaugural Public Trust in Agriculture Summit. Held last month in Ottawa, the event aimed to “encourage continuous collaborative discussions amongst farm and food system leaders, while developing concrete actions for earning public trust.”





Unfortunately for farmers, the research shows the public has anything but trust, doubting everything from animal welfare protections to the safeness and healthfulness of food.





The study found that only 29 percent of Canadians believe Canadian farmers are good stewards of the environment, and almost three-quarters believe videos of farmed animals treated poorly are “representative of normal livestock farming.”





Numerous undercover investigations by Mercy For Animals in Canada have given Canadians some serious food for thought, exposing horrific animal cruelty on some of the nation’s largest factory farms.





The good news is that the public’s distrust has led to a decrease in Canada’s meat consumption . According to a Globe and Mail article, “Annual per-capita meat consumption has declined since 1999, led by a 31-per-cent drop in pork and a 19-per-cent reduction in beef, even though disposable incomes rose steadily in the same period.” Results from a 2013 survey found a nearly 10 percent drop in meat consumption between 2001 and 2013.



