by Christophe Pelletier
First published in Milling and Grain, March 2016
Among all of the trends in food markets, transparency is a tough demand to meet. As such, it is only natural that consumers have questions about what they buy and want to be sure that they buy something they feel comfortable with. In times when the food economy was local with everyone knowing each other in small communities, the food supply chain seemed transparent.
With the separation of rural areas and urban centres as well as the increasing distance; both geographical and relational, between consumers and the different links of the chain, the distance in terms of trust increased too. Add to this a few scandals through the years and the result is a feeling that something is broken in the world of food.
The renewed desire for transparency is nothing than a plea for trust. Since the personal relationship with suppliers in many cases no longer exists, trust cannot be just a matter of knowing the farmer, the baker or the miller. Today’s transparency is about verifiable facts. Today’s consumers, unlike their parents or grandparents, do not want to be told a story anymore.
If they don’t trust you, they won’t believe you. They are used to searching online for everything, with more or less success when it comes to the truth, but they nonetheless want to find out for themselves and figure out on their own what to think. Today’s concept of transparency is replacing PR.
The prospect of having to collect, update and disclose all information through the chain from DNA to retail store or restaurant seems a daunting task and for many food producers, it feels like an overwhelming request. It seems and feels that way because it is. It is rather close to some Herculean task.
Read the full article in Milling and Grain HERE.
First published in Milling and Grain, March 2016
Among all of the trends in food markets, transparency is a tough demand to meet. As such, it is only natural that consumers have questions about what they buy and want to be sure that they buy something they feel comfortable with. In times when the food economy was local with everyone knowing each other in small communities, the food supply chain seemed transparent.
With the separation of rural areas and urban centres as well as the increasing distance; both geographical and relational, between consumers and the different links of the chain, the distance in terms of trust increased too. Add to this a few scandals through the years and the result is a feeling that something is broken in the world of food.
The renewed desire for transparency is nothing than a plea for trust. Since the personal relationship with suppliers in many cases no longer exists, trust cannot be just a matter of knowing the farmer, the baker or the miller. Today’s transparency is about verifiable facts. Today’s consumers, unlike their parents or grandparents, do not want to be told a story anymore.
If they don’t trust you, they won’t believe you. They are used to searching online for everything, with more or less success when it comes to the truth, but they nonetheless want to find out for themselves and figure out on their own what to think. Today’s concept of transparency is replacing PR.
The prospect of having to collect, update and disclose all information through the chain from DNA to retail store or restaurant seems a daunting task and for many food producers, it feels like an overwhelming request. It seems and feels that way because it is. It is rather close to some Herculean task.
Read the full article in Milling and Grain HERE.
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com
No comments:
Post a Comment