Why Trust Matters

At one time, farmers could assume that the public trusted them to do the right thing. Consumers today have a lot more questions about where their food comes and how it produced, processed and marketed. A few “bad actors” along with the public declining trust in institutions have caused consumers to be skeptical about the entire food system.

When the public trusts a company or a sector to do the right thing, it grants them social license – the privilege to operate with minimal restrictions or regulations. The public believes you will operate in a way that is consistent with the ethics, values and expectations of the local community.

When that trust is broken, social license is replaced with social control, which includes regulations, legislation and litigation designed to compel a company to perform to stakeholder expectations. Social control ultimately contributes to higher costs and fewer choices for consumers.

Groundbreaking research by CFI and Iowa State researcher Stephen Sapp publish in Rural Sociology in 2010 proved that providing only facts and science-based data is not enough to build trust. Facts are only helpful once you connect based on shared values.

Of the three primary elements that drive trust—confidence (shared values and ethics), competence (skills and ability) and influential others (family, friends and credentialed individuals),—our peer-reviewed and published research shows that confidence, or shared values, is three-to-five times more important than competence in building trust.

Social license must be earned every day. Trust is built by demonstrating that those involved in producing, processing and selling food share their values when it comes to topics they care about most, like safe food, quality nutrition, outstanding animal care and environmental stewardship.