“Damage to an entire industry can be massive,” said Ache-
son. “We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars. Data
indicate consumption of a commodity can drop 50 percent
overnight.”
Food companies lacking the ability to address a food safety
concern quickly and efficiently will find themselves with deeper
problems.
“It is critical that record-keeping systems are adequate to
support what I call a ‘surgical recall’—get minimum product
off the shelves at maximum speed,” said Acheson, who is now
a food safety consultant. “If you can hold the incident to one
press release, it can go almost unnoticed. If you have to expand
the recall, it can become a nightmare very quickly.”
Ground beef, onions, spinach, peanuts, peppers and eggs
have all in recent years had their turns in the public spotlight
due to food safety concerns. There’s no doubt that pressure on
the food production system is increasing. With each incident,
consumer confidence erodes and the food system’s operating
environment becomes more difficult.
Since 2006, the Center for Food Integrity (CFI) has conducted broad-based consumer market research to measure and
track attitudes toward the U.S. food system. The findings have
consistently shown that the food safety issue trails only the
economy, rising health care costs, unemployment, rising energy
costs and personal financial situations on a long list of consumer concerns.
CFI’s 2011 study showed that consumers rank safe, affordable and nutritious food as their top priorities (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Priority Goals Driving Consumer Food Choices
Consumers are increasingly raising questions about today’s
food production and processing practices. Nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) opposed to today’s production systems
are pursuing litigation, pressuring customers and initiating
legislation to change the way the food system operates. Customers and consumers are asking questions, as was the case
with ground turkey in 2011, about food safety. Sustainability,
nutrition, animal well-being and immigration are also issues of
increasing consumer concern.
The changing structure of our food system, the increasing
influence of global brands, the sophistication and influence of
interest groups and the explosion of social networking and new
media have created a novel environment requiring the food
production system to explore new ways to build consumer
trust and protect its freedom to operate. The rational majority
needs to be shown that even though the size and scale of today’s highly integrated and tightly coordinated food system has
changed, the commitment to do what’s right is stronger than
ever.
Today’s food system needs to be redefined to build consumer trust.
Our Changing Structure
Changes taking place in food production over the past 100
years have been remarkable. Technology our grandparents
never dreamed possible is commonplace. The adoption of technology and the related increase in efficiency and productivity
have resulted in fewer Americans working in food production.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 1900, 36 percent of
all U.S. occupations were “agricultural pursuits.” By 1950, 11. 6
percent of all U.S. occupations were farmers, farm managers
or farm laborers. In 2010, 0.6 percent of the U.S. population
was employed in farming, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Consolidation and integration have dramatically
impacted every sector of the food system, from the farm to the
consumer.
We see the consolidation reflected in the handful of organizations that now control or manage significant segments of the
food system. Today,
•;The;top;10;food;retailers;sell;more;than;75;percent;of;food.
•;The;top;10;chicken;companies;produce;79;percent;of;the
chicken.
•;The;top;50;dairy;cooperatives;produce;79;percent;of;the
milk.
•;The;top;60;egg;companies;produce;85;percent;of;all;eggs.
•;The;top;20;pork;producers;produce;more;than;50;percent;of
all;pork;(2%;of;pork;producers;produce;80%).
•;The;top;10;pork;packers;process;87;percent;of;all;pork.
•;The;top;four;beef
packers process
more;than;80;per-
cent of all beef.
Increased integration and the use of
technology brought
with them improved
food safety, increased
product variety, improved consistency and
a reliable and afford-
Figure 2: Food Industry
Interconnectedness
