Caring for Animals & Creating Trust in Food Copyright © 2023 Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ USA, and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Jane Dukes, associate director, Value Chain and Consumer Affairs, speaks with Charlie Arnot the CEO of The Center for Food Integrity and president of Look East, a communications consulting company based in Kansas City. The Center for Food Integrity is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to building consumer trust and confidence in today’s food system. Charlie is recognized as an industry leader on food and agriculture issues and is a thought-provoking writer and speaker. He discusses increased skepticism stakeholders are facing from customers, consumers and investors across the food value chain. He shares how we can work together to provide critical transparency on topics like food safety, ingredients, animal welfare, labor and business practices and environmental impact. 
“Consumers are not monolithic, and there are 350 million different opinions about what we should be doing when it comes to food and agriculture. And so it's really important and challenging for us to be able to engage. But really the questions, if you distill it all down, come down to, is the food system operating in a way consistent with my values?” - Charlie Arnot
Transparency is personal to consumers. They are concerned about their health and the health of animals and the planet. We feel this topic is so important that we’re sponsoring the upcoming Transparency Summit hosted by the Center for Food Integrity this November in Chicago this November. 

“What we found in organizations is the champion for being more transparent can come from a wide variety of sectors within the company. Could be corporate affairs, could be food safety and regulatory, could be sustainability or ESG, supply chain, research and development, innovation, marketing, C suite leaders. We've worked with companies where the champion for transparency has come from any of those individual sectors. And so we encourage those who have an interest in transparency to come and learn more.” - Charlie Arnot

This Week’s Podcast:
Learn the facts about transparency in animal proteinMeet Charlie Arnot the CEO of The Center for Food Integrity and president of Look East, a communications consulting company based in Kansas City. Discover more about the Transparency Summit set to take place in Chicago this November

Click the SpeakPipe link and let us know what your questions are! We will try to answer as many of them as we can on podcasts throughout the year.

Today’s consumers are focused on where their food comes from and how it was made. They are concerned about health and food safety of the food products they buy – and they want to know more about the farm their animal protein comes from along with the environmental impact and how animals are raised. Technology can help provide transparency in the supply chain that delivers upon consumer expectations.
Jane Dukes, associate director, Value Chain and Consumer Affairs, speaks with Glenn Strickholm, President, Protein Brands, Performance Food Group (PFG), one of the nation’s largest broadline food distributors and a recognized innovator in the premium beef market.
“I think that we're always open to finding ways to take the data and the DNA trace back and finding a way to make it mean more to people. You're right, we have it now for validation and sustainability, but what other things can we pull out of that? What other valuable, tangible things can we pull out of that, that a customer would see value in and be willing to pay for?” - Glenn Strickholm
This Week’s Podcast:
Meet Glenn Strickholm, President, Protein Brands, Performance Food Group (PFG), one of the nation’s largest broadline food distributors and a recognized innovator in the premium beef market.Understand consumers' needs for transparencyExplore the importance of animal welfare to producers and consumersConsider the future of technology and transparency in the animal protein value chain

Click the SpeakPipe link and let us know what your questions are! We will try to answer as many of them as we can on podcasts throughout the year. 

Jane Dukes, associate director, Value Chain and Consumer Affairs, speaks with Anne Warden, Executive Vice President, Head of Marketing, Communications and Affairs for Dairy Management Inc and Emily Yeiser Stepp Executive Director for the National Dairy FARM Program at the National Milk Producers Federation. Both of these women work tirelessly for the dairy industry. Since 1939 National Dairy Month has encouraged families to make milk their beverage of choice based on its nutritional value. Dairy’s rich history continues to this day on more than 37,000 dairy farms and over 9 million dairy cows in the US. 
“I think there's been such an evolution over the centuries of dairy farming and the advancement of technology, genetics, nutrition, that truly, it feels like it's hard to keep up with from a consumer standpoint.… And so to help communicate those differences, still with that same confidence of care is really what we get the most consumer questions about.” - Emily Yeiser Stepp
It's not easy being a dairy farmer. Producers are dealing with a lot of challenges at the moment including inflation, labor shortages, labeling of non-dairy competitors, higher input costs for feed and higher transportation costs. Fortunately for dairy producers, “dairy consumption is at an all time high… people love dairy and love finding ways to include it as a healthy option in their lives.” Programs like the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy fosters collaboration and progress to build a healthy and sustainable future for the dairy community.
“The National Dairy Checkoff is focused on growing demand for dairy products. We do that by delivering science behind dairy's benefits, behind its versatility as a category of products, and then giving consumers new reasons to love and trust dairy. So today, that means science that shows how milk and dairy products have a unique and truly unmatched combination of nutrients that can deliver against a wide range of consumer health and wellness needs.” - Anne Warden

This Week’s Podcast:
Meet Anne Warden, Executive Vice President, Head of Marketing, Communications and Affairs for Dairy Management Inc and Emily Yeiser Stepp, Executive Director for the National Dairy FARM Program at the National Milk Producers FederationExplore the state of the United States Dairy Industry and the challenges it facesDiscover the proactive steps and programs that are established and working hard to support and grow the dairy industry

Click the SpeakPipe link and let us know what your questions are! We will try to answer as many of them as we can on podcasts throughout the year. 

Jane Dukes, associate director, Value Chain and Consumer Affairs, speaks with John Stika, a meat scientist and President of Certified Angus Beef and Emily Metz, President and CEO of the American Egg Board. May is National Beef Month and National Egg Month and so in this episode our industry leading guests join us to recognize the contributions of layer farmers and cattle ranchers while gaining insights into the beef and egg industries. John guides grassroots programs and delivers premium beef from family farmers and ranchers to consumer’s dinner tables. Emily has worked as the head of Global Research and Development Communications and New Product Marketing for the world’s largest animal genetics company. Together they discuss how the agriculture industry can better interact and engage with consumers. 
“Consumers do not buy on price alone. They buy in price in relation to value. And if you understand what consumers value and you align your production systems for those to align with that. I think the opportunity is there to be the financial beneficiary of that alignment and those decisions. I think the data supports the optimism that we're seeing from a production standpoint and a beef merchandising standpoint for the demand that consumers have for our products not just here in the US but around the world.” - John Stika
In a consumer research study conducted last year, two-thirds of consumers reported transparency in animal protein is extremely or very important, but only 35 percent of consumers surveyed feel the animal protein industry is transparent about sustainability or animal care/treatment. The egg industry is currently on a mission to simplify labels and allow consumers easier access to information in selecting their eggs based on what their family needs and the values they want to support. 
“We need to do a better job of talking about what those different production styles and practices really mean and making sure that people understand that there are trade offs. And I frankly think this is a conversation that probably agriculture needs to have across the board. There's no one silver bullet in terms of production and there's trade-offs in everything.” - Emily Metz

This Week’s Podcast:
Meet John Stika, is a meat scient  ist and President of Certified Angus Beef and Emily Metz, President and CEO of the American Egg Board.Explore the commonalities between the egg and beef industry in addressing consumer concerns and expectationsDiscover the discussions that are being had to encourage transparency in the agriculture industry and those yet to come

Click the SpeakPipe link and let us know what your questions are! We will try to answer as many of them...

Jane Dukes, associate director of value chain & consumers affairs, speaks with Tara Vander Dussen and Brandi Buzzard Frobose. Tara is an environmental scientist, dairy farmer and online influencer. Some of you may know her as the “New Mexico Milkmaid” on social media.  She’s also a mom to two adorable little girls, and the co-founder of Elevate Ag. Brandi calls herself a Kansas “cowgirl.” She’s also a rancher, mom and author of a blog, Buzzard’s Beat. She has a suite of resources to help advocate for agriculture called “Amped Up Advocacy” Both of these women are tireless advocates for agriculture with tens of thousands of followers on social media. 
“I think to some extent we don't give grocery shoppers enough credit for what they can handle. There's always been a wall, like we want to give them information but not too much because we don't want to scare them off…but I feel like if grocery shoppers can see how we truly do care and we are doing what we need to do, even if that means expensive medical treatment to save an animal and a calf, that's the right thing to do.” - Brandi Buzzard Frobose
Consumers are three to four generations removed from the farm and want more information about how their food is grown and raised. Farmers and ranchers are feeling the pressure of a changing dynamic and perceptions of the food chain. 
“If every single farmer and rancher shared their story online, I don't think there would be enough of us sharing. Every single farmer rancher out there is going to reach somebody different and that's why it's so important to have so many of us sharing our message is because we're going to connect and relate with people differently.” - Tara Vander Dussen
This Week’s Podcast:
Meet Tara Vander Dussen an environmental scientist, dairy farmer and online influencer and and Brandi Buzzard Frobose a rancher, mom and author of a blog, Buzzard’s BeatDiscover the benefits in “sharing your story” in agriculture and the trust that action can foster in consumersExplore the common misconceptions around “factory farming” and how this ambiguous term has created a stigma around larger operations in the minds of grocery shoppers

Click the SpeakPipe link and let us know what your questions are! We will try to answer as many of them as we can on podcasts throughout the year. 

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Last year, a research study explored consumer desire for transparency in animal protein. In the survey, two-thirds of consumers reported transparency in animal protein is extremely or very important. Participants shared that food safety and nutrition for “me and my family” are the main motivators for this interest.  And yet, only 35 percent of consumers surveyed feel that the animal protein industry is transparent about sustainability or animal care/treatment. That’s a gap we can help fill. 
“We're really steadfast in reassuring that the food in the United States is the safest on the planet, that those who are in food production have made leaps and bounds in sustainability, that the diversity of today's food system empowers consumers to make the choice that is absolutely best for them... And then finally, it's important that we let them know that we're constantly innovating and leveraging technology to improve all aspects of food.” - Roxi Beck
In this episode, Jane Dukes, Associate Director of Value Chain & Consumers Affairs, speaks with Roxi Beck, director of consumer engagement at the Center for Food Integrity, and Tim Hammerich, senior director of communications at Cogent Consulting.
“I think farmers my age, as they're playing more leadership roles on the farm, are more interested in embracing technology and are more sustainability-conscious. And because of that, I think we will start to see more data available to tell the story of what's actually happening from farm to fork.” - Tim Hammerich

This Week’s Podcast:
Meet Roxi Beck, director of consumer engagement at the Center for Food Integrity and Tim Hammerich, senior director of communications at Cogent ConsultingDiscuss and understand what consumers mean by saying they prefer transparency in their food chain and where they find this value in the products they buyExplore the shared value strategy in communication with consumers to show that you support what matters most to them

Click the SpeakPipe link and let us know what your questions are! We will try to answer as many of them as we can on podcasts throughout the year.